


Race Against Time

by Doylebaby



Category: Actor RPF
Genre: Big Bang Challenge, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-10-03
Updated: 2012-10-23
Packaged: 2017-11-15 13:44:35
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 24,664
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/527948
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Doylebaby/pseuds/Doylebaby
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Living with his boyfriend and being a teacher, Orlando’s life seems happy enough. Then he gets a devastating message that turns his life upside down. He has to make some life changing decisions and leaves for a long holiday in Australia.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> Huge thanks to Liriel for the beta and providing me with all information about Australia and with lots of suggestions for the Australia part. ♥  
> Also huge thanks to her for offering to make the art for this story when the artist who claimed my story was never heard of again.

[ ](http://pics.livejournal.com/doylebaby/pic/000bdea0/)

**Race Against Time**

**Chapter One**

A bright flash of light, followed a few moments later by a loud clap of thunder, made the students move uneasily in their seats.

“Settle down, it’s just a thunderstorm, don’t let it distract you.” Orlando walked through the classroom, as his students worked on their test. 

Despite his reassurances, many looked up as the sky turned as dark as if night was falling fast and heavy rain clattered against the windows. It was spring but the weather was more like autumn. 

“There’s not much time left,” Orlando warned them and most heads bent over their papers once more. Orlando nodded in approval and continued his supervision. Suddenly, just after another too bright flash of lightning, Orlando found himself lying full length on the floor, having tripped over a backpack a bit sloppily parked beside a student’s chair. 

Some giggled, others immediately reached out to help their teacher up.

“Sorry Mr. Bloom,” Brendan, the owner of the backpack, mumbled and he kicked his bag under his chair out of the way. “Are you okay?”

Orlando nodded, wincing as he rubbed his forehead which he’d bashed against something. “I’m fine, Brendan, it wasn’t your fault, I was blinded by the lightning. I think I’m going to have a bruise though.” 

After another reassuring smile at Brendan, Orlando walked back to his desk and sat down. The class settling down again after seeing their teacher was alright. 

Orlando wasn’t really feeling okay though, his fall had been quite hard and he wondered how he had missed seeing the backpack. He sighed as he carefully touched his forehead again – it was quite tender and he could feel it swelling already. 

“Great,” he muttered quietly. He was going to be the laughing stock among his friends. They all knew he was a little accident prone, but no one would be able to keep a straight face after they found out what happened this time. 

 

A couple of hours later Orlando arrived home with a pounding headache. Driving in the dark had been challenging, perhaps due to his fall, since he’d had trouble focusing properly on the road.

Orlando looked forward to finally sitting down with a cup of tea, then having dinner and a shower and probably an early night after grading papers. He hoped Simon had dinner almost ready.

He opened the front door and reached for the light switch. He clicked it on but nothing happened, he clicked again, but the hallway stayed dark. Annoyed, he shook his head. Simon was supposed to have changed the light bulb; he’d specifically asked him to since he would be at home all day. 

Carefully shuffling forward, Orlando hated that he couldn’t see a damn thing in the dark hall. He felt around for the banister and started to climb the stairs. He stumbled over an unexpected obstacle in his path and lost his footing, tumbling back down the stairs. The box he’d tripped over landing beside him with a loud clatter. He had dropped his bag when he fell and as he searched for it, he grabbed hold of something sharp enough to make him cry out.

“What the fuck is going on down there?” a voice shouted from upstairs. 

“Bloody hell, Simon, you were supposed to have fixed the light in the hallway!” Orlando shouted back in pain and angry at his boyfriend. 

There was a lot of stumbling around above him and then someone appeared, carrying a torch. “Sorry Lan, I brought the box down here and then had a sudden inspiration with the lightning flashing. Why are you holding your hand like that?” Simon shone the light in Orlando’s face as he held his hand against his chest.

“Fuck, Si, do you mind?” Orlando shielded his eyes with his good hand. “Because of your stupidity I tripped over the box and sliced my hand on one of the smashed bulbs while trying to find my bag.”

Simon helped him up. “You should watch where you’re going,” he grumbled. “And stop calling me Si.”

Orlando pulled away from his lover in anger. “Without any light on, I can’t really watch anything now can I? And I’ll stop calling you Si as soon as you stop calling me Lan, you know how I hate that name!”  
He knew he sounded childish, but with the throbbing pain in his head and his hurting hand, and the fact that Simon apparently didn’t even care that Orlando was injured due to his stupid behaviour annoyed him immensely.

“Oh come on, you grouch, let’s get you upstairs.” Simon let the light of the torch play across the hallway, locating Orlando’s bag and revealing the mess of several shattered light bulbs. “I don’t think there’s a bulb left in one piece,” he remarked as he grabbed Orlando’s bag. “Oh, and I forgot all about dinner too,” he added casually.

Orlando didn’t say a word as he started to climb the stairs; his hope for an early night was slowly going up in smoke.

Upstairs where the lights were on, Orlando checked his right hand; there was a deep gash from under his thumb to the middle of his palm bleeding profusely. 

“You’re bleeding!” Simon turned away quickly, while Orlando went into the kitchen and turned the tap on over the sink. He could feel there were still some splinters in the wound and he rinsed it thoroughly, hoping they would wash out. 

“Simon, can you get the First Aid kit?” he called out to his boyfriend and when Simon walked into the kitchen with the kit, he added, “There’s a pair of tweezers in there, maybe you can get these splinters out for me.”

Simon almost dropped the box. “Who me? You know I can’t handle blood… stuff,” he waved at Orlando’s hand.

“It’s my right hand, Simon, I can’t do it myself.” Orlando’s headache was increasing and he could feel any patience he had decreasing rapidly. “If you won’t do it, you’ll have to take me to hospital.”

“What, now? Can’t you take a taxi? I’m in the middle of a masterpiece!” Simon whined.

“Simon!” Orlando growled, holding up his hand dripping blood. “Could you forget about your precious masterpiece for just a second?”

Before Simon could react, the doorbell rang.

“Got a beer for a mate? Shit! What the hell happened here?” Dom stepped around the shards in the hallway and took the stairs two at a time.

Simon stood with his hands on his hips watching Dom climb up the stairs, then he turned to Orlando. “Now how can Dom get up the stairs without a problem, while you’re moaning about not seeing anything?” 

“Maybe because I bashed my head today and I’ve got a fucking headache and now a sore hand as well!” Orlando’s last remaining patience instantly evaporated.

“Okay guys,” Dom stepped between them, holding up his hands in a placating manner. “What’s the problem?” 

Orlando glared at Simon, who turned on his heel and stomped out of the kitchen, heading for the living room. Showing Dom his hand and nodding at the tweezers on the worktop, Orlando hoped Dom could help him out. 

“Sorry mate, you should have it checked and I think you might need stitches too.” Dom glanced down the hallway over his shoulder and then asked. “You want _me_ to take you to hospital?”

Orlando’s shoulders slumped. “If you wouldn’t mind? I can’t handle anymore drama right now.” He rubbed his forehead with his good hand, wincing when he brushed over where a bump had formed; it did hurt quite a bit.

“Another accident?” Dom inclined his head in question.

Orlando just nodded and motioned for Dom to precede him. “I’ll tell you all about it in the car.” He stopped at the top of the stairs and called to Simon, “Dom is taking me to hospital!”

“Can you bring some take-away on the way back?” Was all Simon said in response.

Rolling his eyes, Orlando pretended not to hear and, holding the banister with his left hand just in case, he went down the stairs. He handed Dom his car keys and pulled the door closed behind him.

They had driven a couple of miles in silence when Dom sighed. “Are you going to tell me about it?”

Orlando shook his head in annoyance. “I had a fall this afternoon, in the classroom. I bashed my head quite hard on something, which gave me a pounding headache and driving home in this weather was no fun, I can tell you that. Then I come home and my lazy-arse boyfriend, who was supposed to have changed the light bulb, apparently had a fucking epiphany when he saw the lightning in the hallway earlier and left the box of bulbs sitting on the stairs for me to trip over in the dark , with this –” He held up his hand. “As a result.”

Dom scowled. “You _do_ seem to be having a lot of incidents lately.”

Orlando shrugged, it was true, Dom wasn’t telling him anything he hadn’t noticed himself. “I’m just tired, Dom, that’s all. I’ve never been one to have proper night vision and for both accidents it wasn’t exactly light.”

Dom rolled his eyes and, never one to keep quiet, continued. “By the way, when are you going to ditch your egotistical prat of a boyfriend?”

Orlando sighed. “He’s not that bad, Dom, he’s just…”

“Selfish,” Dom provided. “Let me ask you this – who’s driving you to hospital right now, mate?” 

“Young. I was going to say young.” Orlando looked at his friend. “He doesn’t like blood and hospitals.”

“Orlando, he’s only two years younger than you are, and I’m not too fond of hospitals either, remember, but I’m doing this for a mate, whose lover doesn’t really go out of his way to help. You’re making excuses for him and it’s not working.” 

Orlando knew Dom had a point… or two. Simon _was_ selfish. It wasn’t the first time he’d come home tired and had to cook dinner, or even get the groceries first because Simon had been too caught up in his latest painting, sculpture, or whatever he was working on, to do any chores. 

That wouldn’t be so bad, but Simon always took it for granted that Orlando did most of the chores _and_ worked a full time job. He was an artist, was his usual excuse and he needed his freedom to create. 

Orlando rubbed his forehead and then winced as he was reminded of his earlier fall. “I know all that, Dom, I know he’s not the most compassionate person.”

Dom snorted. “That’s an understatement. Be honest with me, mate, do you really love him?”

Orlando didn’t answer immediately. Did he? He had loved Simon, at least he thought he had and moving in together seemed like a great idea, but it soon became more of a burden than fun. 

When Dom didn’t receive an answer he glanced sideways at Orlando. “Having second thoughts?”

If he was honest with himself, Orlando _did_ have second thoughts, but he wasn’t ready to talk about that yet. He looked out the window. “Not now please, Dom,” he replied with a sigh.

“Not to worry, mate, here we are.” Dom parked the car and they walked toward the entrance of the hospital.

The A&E was very busy and it took a while before they were seen too. After taking Orlando’s details, they were sent to the waiting area. 

“Not entirely how I envisioned my night,” Dom muttered as he sank down in an uncomfortable chair.

“Not mine either. Look Dom, thanks for bringing me, but I can take the bus back if it gets very late, or a taxi. You go home, Bills must be wondering where you are and I can pick up my car at your place tomorrow.” Orlando smiled tiredly at his friend. 

Dom shook his head. “Nope, I’m staying. I’ll give Billy a ring in a minute. You’re just as likely to have another accident if I leave you alone here. I’ll deliver you home safely.”

Not in the least bit offended, but taking the words as they were meant – in friendly concern, Orlando nodded and prodded at Dom. “You go call Billy first, no need to have him worry.”

 

They sat waiting for nearly an hour and forty-five minutes before Orlando was called and guided into a cubicle. The nurse attending to his injured hand removed the slivers efficiently and then cleaned the wound. 

“You’ll need a couple of stitches to close the wound; I’ll give you a local anaesthetic for the pain.” She went to get the supplies necessary while Orlando wished his pounding headache would just go away; maybe she could anaesthetize his head while she was doing his hand... 

“That’s quite a fall you had,” the nurse said with a quick glance at his forehead after she’d inserted the needle for the anaesthetic, trying to distract him.

Orlando sighed. “Two different ones actually, I’m a bit of a klutz to be honest.”

She smiled sympathetically at him and then set to stitching the wound before bandaging his hand. “We all have our moments, but I will ask one of the doctors to make sure you don’t have a concussion. Just stay here.”

Orlando nodded in resignation, he might just as well wait a while longer, his evening was ruined anyway. 

A harried looking doctor entered his cubicle and sat on the stool in front of Orlando. He nodded once in greeting and immediately began shining a penlight into Orlando’s eyes and then examined the bump on his forehead. “Did you lose consciousness at all? Have any nausea, dizziness, headache?”

“I’ve got a headache, but I didn’t pass out at all,” Orlando replied. 

“It’s most likely not a concussion. Do you have someone at home to monitor your condition?” 

“Yes, I do,” Orlando lied. He knew full well Simon couldn’t be counted on to even notice if his headache got worse – and all Simon would do if he started throwing up was go to the other end of the flat so he didn’t have to hear it.

The doctor made a few notes in Orlando’s file. “You can take regular painkillers for your headache. If it gets worse, or you still have a headache after twenty-four hours, you’ll need to return to hospital to have another check-up and possibly a CT scan.”

“Thanks,” Orlando stood up and watched as the doctor hurried out of the cubicle again. The nurse returned and pushed the curtain open. “Take it easy with your hand; the stitches can come out in ten days.” With a nod she left and Orlando stepped out of the cubicle, looking for Dom.

“Over here, mate,” Dom touched his shoulder. “They check your head?” he asked.

Orlando nodded.

“And they still released you? Amazing!” Dom cackled at the mock punch Orlando gave him. “Come on, let’s get you home.”

[ ](http://pics.livejournal.com/doylebaby/pic/000begwh/)

“You want to pick up some take-away?” Dom asked while they waited for a traffic light.

Orlando shuddered. “No thanks, I just want to go home, take something for my head and crawl into bed.”

“What about Simon’s dinner?” 

Orlando shrugged, he couldn’t care less about Simon’s dinner, but wasn’t going to mention that to Dom. “Knowing Simon, he’s eaten by now.” He checked his watch, but finally had to look at the clock on the dashboard to make out the time. “At any rate he’ll probably be in bed by the time I get home.”

Dom’s eyes narrowed. “He wouldn’t wait until you’re home to see how you are?”

“As we've established earlier tonight, Simon isn’t very compassionate.” Orlando heard how tired he sounded and he was. Tired of making excuses for Simon and tired of always being the responsible one, always taking care of his lover and never being able to count on Simon in return. 

“Come on, mate. It’s not all that bad. You’re just exhausted and hurting, I’m sure you’ll feel better after a good night’s sleep.” Dom tried to cheer him up.

Orlando appreciated the effort and gave him a small smile. “Yeah, probably.”

When they arrived, Dom parked the car and Orlando, feeling nauseous, carefully got out of the car. Dom opened the front door for him and Orlando reached for the light, remembering at the last moment that no bulbs had survived the fall down the stairs. 

“Come on, mate, I’ll give you a hand.” With Dom’s assistance Orlando made it up the stairs without incident and he hugged his friend quickly. “Thanks Dom, you’re a lifesaver.”

Dom nodded. “No worries, don’t forget to take some painkillers for that headache.” With a wave of farewell he bounded down the stairs.

Sighing tiredly Orlando went to the bedroom and turned his bedside lamp on. As he’d expected Simon was asleep, he just turned away from the light without waking up. Orlando started to undress, which didn’t go as fast as he wanted. His hand just wasn’t cooperating and he bumped the wound a couple of times in the process which made him curse in pain. 

He shuffled into the bathroom to fetch his painkillers from the bathroom cabinet; taking two he hoped they would stay down. After brushing his teeth he filled a glass with water and took it with him to the bedroom, he couldn’t wait to lie down to rest his aching head.

Just as he was lying as comfortable as he could possibly get with a sore head and a stinging hand, Simon scooted closer and wrapped himself around Orlando – as he often did, like a boa constrictor...

It was the last thing Orlando needed and with more force than was probably necessary he freed himself and pushed Simon away. 

Simon woke up and looked around blearily. “Oh, you’re home.” And he shifted, ready to wrap himself around Orlando again.

“Simon, I have a throbbing head and I’m nauseous as hell, please give me some space!” 

Offended Simon turned away from Orlando to lie on his other side and within minutes he was snoring softly.

With a sigh Orlando lay down once more, glad to finally be able to rest his aching head. He felt a little guilty for snapping at his lover, but he just couldn’t deal with Simon’s clingy behaviour right now.

Then he remembered the doctor telling him he needed to be monitored. A vague memory of reading somewhere that a person with concussion needed to be woken up every two hours prompted Orlando to struggle upright with a groan and set the alarm for 1:30 am, hoping he would manage to get some sleep before then. There was no point in even asking Simon to wake him – his boyfriend would never agree to forgo his own sleep for any reason.

Orlando was rudely shaken awake by Simon, as the radio on the alarm clock blared loudly. “For fuck’s sake, Orlando! Why the hell did you set the alarm for half past one?” 

Groggily Orlando turned over and still half asleep, set the alarm again, this time for four o’clock.

“What the hell are you doing?” Simon shouted, shaking Orlando again.

Wincing, Orlando pushed Simon off him. “I still have a splitting headache, Simon. I can hear you perfectly well without you needing to shout. I need to be woken up every two hours in case I have a concussion and I assumed you didn't want to be on call all night…”

Simon grabbed the duvet and pulled it off the bed. “I’m going to sleep on the couch,” he grumbled in annoyance.

“Fine,” Orlando lay down again, wincing when the door of the bedroom slammed shut behind his boyfriend. 

 

The next morning Orlando felt as if he’d been hit by a truck, his head still hurt and the lack of sleep wasn’t helping. He called in sick and went back to bed with another dose of painkillers. 

Simon unfortunately considered Orlando staying home from work a bonus, counting on him to get the groceries and some new light bulbs. 

When Orlando told him rather vehemently, that he was at home because he wasn’t feeling well and that he wasn’t going anywhere; Simon left angrily and a little while later, Orlando heard the front door close none too gently. For once Orlando didn’t feel guilty, his sigh of relief at the sudden silence was telling.

tbc


	2. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Living with his boyfriend and being a teacher, Orlando’s life seems happy enough. Then he gets a devastating message that turns his life upside down. He has to make some life changing decisions and leaves for a long holiday in Australia.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Huge thanks to Liriel for the beta and providing me with all information about Australia and with lots of suggestions for the Australia part. ♥  
> Also huge thanks to her for offering to make the art for this story when the artist who claimed my story was never heard of again.

[ ](http://s21.photobucket.com/albums/b261/Doylebaby/?action=view&current=50405d10.jpg)

**Chapter Two**

Orlando’s latest incident was the proverbial ‘one too many’. 

Playing racquet ball had seemed a great idea now that his hand and head were both healed, but sadly it didn’t turn out to be much fun.

The big, dark blue bruise on Orlando’s cheek was the result of a ball he hadn’t seen bouncing off the wall and it had hit him straight in the face.

[ ](http://pics.livejournal.com/doylebaby/pic/000bhsxt/)

Simon had laughed uproariously. Even when Orlando was temporarily dazed, he still didn’t seem to understand the severity of the situation. Other players had come in to help Orlando before Simon realized the incident was serious. 

For Orlando it was the final straw, in more ways than one. 

He came to the conclusion that he really needed to be checked out, there were far too many incidents lately and although his injuries were relatively minor, he was getting a little nervous about the number of them.

His other conclusion was his relationship with Simon. It just wasn’t working anymore, the past couple of weeks he had been relieved to leave for work in the morning and dreaded going home at night. He knew what he had to do, but it wasn’t going to be easy. 

Orlando decided to postpone his talk with Simon until after his appointment with the eye specialist. His GP had felt that maybe he needed glasses, but since Orlando’s night vision and also on occasion his peripheral vision seemed compromised, he wanted the opinion of an ophthalmologist.

The appointment was today and Orlando felt strangely apprehensive. 

“Come on, mate, having glasses is not so bad. Bills wears ‘em often at night and he’s dead sexy!” Dom grinned brightly and Orlando smiled and nodded and wondered why he still dreaded hearing the verdict.

Simon had declined to accompany him, claiming hospitals made him sick, which is why Dominic was at his side again. When he’d heard that Orlando was going in alone, he said he would at least drive him to the hospital and back home again. 

“My mum had these drops in her eyes, to widen her pupils for the examination and she was very light sensitive, couldn’t see properly for hours afterwards, let alone drive home.” 

Orlando frowned. “I had no idea. I’m not sure whether they mentioned anything on the phone when I made the appointment, but I was a little nervous. Still am,” he admitted.

Dom clapped him on the shoulder as they walked into the waiting room. “No worries, I’m here and I’ll stay until you’re done.”

Orlando asked for the ophthalmologist at the reception desk and was directed to the second floor. There he reported himself to the receptionist and was asked to take a seat in the waiting room until he was called inside. 

It didn’t take long before his name was called and he murmured to Dom, “Wish me luck.”

Dom squeezed his arm briefly before Orlando went into the doctor’s office. 

He was asked a lot of questions and answered them as accurately as he could and then the actual examination began. 

It took a long time and the doctor made a lot of notes, shaking his head from time to time. The action didn’t make Orlando feel any better – if anything, it increased his anxiety. 

“It’s not a brain tumour is it, Doctor?” He was suddenly barely able to breathe.

It took a while before the doctor answered and he wasn’t as reassuring as Orlando would have liked. “Your condition displays all the symptoms of Retinitis Pigmentosa, a degenerative eye disease…” The doctor shuffled his papers around while Orlando sat waiting in front of his desk. Feeling his hands start to shake, Orlando quickly clenched them together in his lap. 

“I’d like to refer you to our Retina specialist, Doctor Hardy,” the doctor said as he picked up the phone. “I hope he will be able to fit you in today, if that is okay with you?”

Orlando shrugged, then nodded, he knew he wouldn’t be able to breathe easy until he knew what was going on, because he was now convinced that something was terribly wrong. 

While the doctor talked to his colleague, Orlando didn’t try to follow the conversation, all the medical terminology meant nothing to him and only made him more worried about his condition. 

“Mister Bloom?” Apparently it wasn’t the first time the doctor had addressed him and Orlando looked up, meeting the doctor’s grave face.

“Doctor Hardy can see you at 1:30 this afternoon, his office is down this corridor on the right. It’s a bit of a wait, but there’s a café downstairs, perhaps you could have some lunch while you’re waiting,” the doctor suggested. “I’ll make sure Doctor Hardy has all available results of the testing I did before your appointment.” He stood, indicating Orlando’s appointment had ended. 

Orlando stood as well, shaking the doctor’s hand. “Thank you,” he mumbled. The churning of his stomach made him aware his fear had grown even stronger. Food was the last thing he wanted right now. 

He left the doctor’s office and Dom immediately jumped up, noticing Orlando’s pale face. “Well?” Dom asked in a worried tone.

“I don’t know yet. He seemed to think it’s an eye disease called Retinitis Pigmentosa – whatever that is, but I need to see a retina specialist and he made an appointment for me with him at 1:30.”

“Today?”

Orlando nodded.

“Shit man,” Dom said in sympathy; knowing as well as Orlando that when a doctor wanted you to see another specialist straight away, it could never mean good news. 

Dom grabbed Orlando’s arm. “Come on, we’ll go have lunch while we wait.” Then, after another look at Orlando’s face. “Okay, I’ll have lunch, maybe you should just stick to tea.”

With a resigned nod Orlando let himself be dragged down to the restaurant until it was time for his next appointment.

*

Time seemed to drag but finally it was time for Orlando’s appointment with Doctor Hardy and he and Dom went back to the second floor. 

As soon as he identified himself at the reception desk the woman called through to the doctor and he was directed to the doctor’s office. 

Doctor Hardy shook his hand and gestured toward the examination chair. He asked Orlando to sit down and trained two very intense lights on him. 

He put on special glasses with what looked like a pair of binoculars embedded in the lenses. As he examined Orlando’s eyes he made notes, but didn’t say anything to reveal his thoughts and Orlando bit his lip, his nerves getting the better of him again.

Finally Doctor Hardy pushed his stool back and turned the lights off, motioning for Orlando to follow him to his desk. He sat down and folded his hands, looking at Orlando thoughtfully.

“I can only agree with Doctor Carlisle, Mr Bloom, you have an advanced case of Retinitis Pigmentosa.”

“Does that…” His voice was husky from anxiety and Orlando cleared his throat before continuing. “Does that mean I need eye surgery?”

Doctor Hardy shook his head. “I’m afraid that wouldn’t be of any benefit. Medical research hasn’t provided us with a cure for this disease yet. Mr Bloom, I’m sorry but you will eventually lose your vision, how slow or fast we can’t predict, but with time you will become completely blind.” 

Orlando sat frozen in his chair, feeling as though he’d been hit in the head with a blunt instrument. “That… that can’t be… right.” He stammered, unable to take it in.

Doctor Hardy wrote something on a piece of paper and pushed it across his desk to Orlando. “I realize it is a devastating diagnosis for you and will be difficult for you to come to terms with. If you would like a second opinion, I’ll be happy to arrange for you to see another retina specialist. They will not just repeat my conclusion to you, they will conduct a full examination as I have done today and their report will detail their own findings. In the meantime, I suggest you have a look at the website I’ve written down for you. There is some very good, realistic information on that site which will let you know what you can expect as the disease progresses. You can ring my office at any time to request a second opinion of my diagnosis.”

Orlando reached out shakily and grabbed the note. “Can I go now?” he asked in a bit of a daze.

“Do you have someone waiting for you?” Doctor Hardy asked mildly concerned. 

Orlando nodded and walked to the door, and then he turned and looked back at the doctor. “Thank you, I guess.” He walked out of the office into the waiting room where Dom looked at him expectantly.

“Well?” he asked when Orlando didn’t say anything. 

“I want out of here. Now, Dom!” 

Dom was about to ask why the rush, when he noticed Orlando’s shaking hands. “Okay, let’s go.”

Orlando didn’t speak until they sat in the car, then he prevented Dom from starting the car by putting a hand on his wrist. “Doctor Hardy says…” he swallowed and wondered how he was going to face this, and then he laughed bitterly at the choice of words his thoughts provided him with.

Dom shook him. “What did he say, Orlando? Come on, mate, tell me!” 

“It’s not good news. I’m going to lose my eyesight entirely. They have no idea how fast or how slow and there’s nothing that can fix it. Eye surgery won’t help either.” Orlando knew he sounded indifferent, but he couldn’t let go of the tight hold on himself, he was afraid he would fall apart if he let his feelings out.

“You’re kidding, right?” The look on Dom’s face was one of shock though. “Shit man, are they sure?”

Orlando shrugged. “It seems they are, although Doctor Hardy has given me the option of a second opinion from another specialist if I want.” 

Not knowing what else to say, Dom squeezed Orlando’s arm. “Let’s get you home, mate.”

* 

A month had passed and Orlando still hadn’t talked to Simon – not about their relationship - or the non-existence of it - and not about his condition. Dom and Billy were the only ones who knew about his vision problems. 

Today however, Orlando had been to see another specialist for a second opinion and this doctor only confirmed the diagnosis Dr Hardy had given him. Orlando most definitely had Retinitis Pigmentosa. 

Orlando knew that time – his time - was running out. 

Because no one was available to accompany him to the specialist, Orlando had taken the bus and without anyone to distract him, he’d had time to think on how to tell Simon about his decisions. 

He opened the front door and walked slowly up the stairs. He wasn’t looking forward to this conversation, but there was no way he could avoid it. 

He found Simon in the living room. A canvas was placed in front of the window and Simon was stroking his paintbrush reflexively over it while talking into his mobile. “… I’m sure we can meet up tomorrow, he’s back to work then and-” When he saw Orlando he hastily severed the connection.

Raising his eyebrows, Orlando walked closer. “Do you have something to hide, Simon?”

Nervously Simon dropped his paintbrush. He took his time picking it up and stood up again sporting a flushed face. “You startled me, that’s all.”

“I doubt it,” Orlando said. “Who were you talking to?”

“I don’t… I…” Then he squared his shoulders. “None of your business.”

Shrugging Orlando turned away. It seemed the upcoming conversation was going to be easier than he had anticipated. 

“Fine,” he replied. “In that case, I want you to know, Simon, it’s over between us. We obviously have nothing in common, I’m beginning to doubt we ever had, and I am fed up with doing most of the work and paying for everything. As this is my place, I want you to leave as soon as possible. I’m sure you can find someone who is willing to put up with you.” 

Orlando _had_ anticipated Simon’s hysterical outburst, but since he didn’t react to it, it bled out quite quickly. 

Certain that Simon was seeing someone else behind his back, Orlando didn’t feel any obligation to tell his now ex-lover about his eye condition. _That_ was none of Simon’s business anymore. 

Standing in the kitchen absent-mindedly stirring the sugar in his tea, Orlando heard the slamming of their bedroom door and Simon appeared in the doorway.

“I’ve packed an overnight bag; I’ll be back for the rest of my things tomorrow.” Simon was about to turn away when Orlando stopped him.

“I’d like your key to the flat, Simon. You can come back for the rest of your stuff when I’m home.” Orlando held out his hand.

Simon rooted around in his pockets, glaring furiously at Orlando. “Don’t you trust me any more?”

“You’re seeing someone behind my back… Do I need to say any more?” Orlando waited for Simon to object against his accusation, but the man pulled the key finally from somewhere in his bag and smacked it in Orlando’s hand. 

“I’ll be back tomorrow.”

When the downstairs door closed behind Simon, Orlando sighed deeply, recognizing it as a sigh of relief. All the tension seemed to slide off him. Now he could focus on what was really important.

*

In the next couple of days, Orlando read everything he could find on Retinitis Pigmentosa, going beyond the website Dr Hardy had given him. He sought out information on the prognoses, the treatments with herbs and vitamins, lights and colours, regular and alternative options and opinions.

One thing was very clear though, however long it would take, he would end up losing his vision, there was simply no cure and no one could predict when it would happen. 

In all probability he would wake up one morning in total darkness.

After closing his laptop, Orlando buried his face in his hands. He had purposely avoided reading anything about this disease after Doctor Hardy had diagnosed him; the man could have made a mistake. But after this morning’s results had turned out the same, he could no longer deny it or hide from the devastating truth. 

He was going to lose his vision in the foreseeable future and there was not a damn thing he could do about it!

Reality was sinking in and it was by no means a gentle experience.

Furiously wiping the tears that kept falling, Orlando knew that he would need to accept his fate before it destroyed him and he promised himself _that_ was not going to happen. 

After he’d calmed down he nodded to himself, there were some decisions to make and the sooner he made them the better.

tbc


	3. Chapter Three

**Chapter Three**

Before school, Orlando had a long talk with the Head Teacher and handed his letter of resignation to the man. When he explained his situation, he received the understanding and support he’d hoped to get and with a lighter heart he went to the classroom

 

Orlando stood in front of the classroom and looked at his students. They appeared a little apprehensive, probably assuming they were in trouble. This particular class had witnessed a couple of his accidents and he felt compelled to explain why it had prompted him to leave. 

He cleared his throat. “As you all know, I’ve had quite a few little accidents lately. To be honest, I’ve had a few more serious ones while I wasn’t at school and because it was getting just a little worrying I’ve had a thorough check-up.”

“Do you have cancer, Mr Bloom?” Megan, sitting in the front of the class, asked, the tension getting to her.

Orlando smiled at her, and then he shook his head. “I’ve been diagnosed with a serious eye disease that will eventually mean I will lose my eyesight.”

He held up his hand before anyone could comment. “My accidents all had to do with this condition. I’ve been having trouble seeing properly in twilight or semi-darkness, hence my tripping over things, I just didn’t see them. It will get worse in stages, until I lose all vision.” 

Brendan coloured, suddenly remembering the day Mr Bloom had fallen over his bag. 

“What are you going to do now, sir?” One of the girls asked curiously.

Orlando paced up and down in front of the classroom. “I have given this quite some thought after I learned the results of the tests the doctors did. It’s not easy to accept that soon my vision will deteriorate which is why I have tendered my resignation to the Head Teacher and I will be leaving at the end of the school year.”

Immediately the class erupted into a lot of noise and they only quieted down when Orlando clapped his hands. 

“We all have dreams, right?” he asked and most of them nodded in agreement. “Well, I have quite a few too. One of them is to visit Australia and travel around that country. Since I don’t know how soon my vision will get worse, I want to take that trip while I am still able to see properly. There are a few dreams I probably will have to give up on, but this is one dream that can still come true.” 

Orlando gave his students a moment to consider his words and was gratified when all of them nodded their heads in understanding. Not wanting to get into a huge discussion about his condition, he quickly began the lesson, distracting them quite thoroughly.

*

It was Thursday morning in early October and Orlando was waiting for his bags at Sydney Airport

The last two months had been quite hectic with two more visits to Doctor Hardy, who prescribed him a pair of glasses to help his failing eyesight, and advised him to get himself a collapsible symbol cane.

“Be prepared, Mr Bloom,” he’d said. “You might not need it yet, but when you do, you don’t want to have to go ‘shopping’ for it.”

As before, the doctor was quite blunt, but Orlando preferred that to pity for his predicament.

Booking his holiday to Australia had been an adventure in itself, because he wanted to have everything arranged before he left. He’d had enough nasty surprises lately and having his holiday completely planned in advance was a security he desperately needed.

When he had asked them, Dom and Billy had been only too happy to house-sit for him, they could use a little privacy and Orlando was reassured to know that his place was in good hands.

He’d had a brilliant farewell party at school and he received a farewell gift from his colleagues, a beautiful book about Australia. It had helped Orlando to decide what sights he wanted to visit on his trip.

 

Noticing his bags moving towards him on the carousel, Orlando stepped forward and lifted them off, slinging them onto the trolley. He slowly started to push the trolley towards the exit. He was very tired, and his sight was slightly fuzzy, probably from exhaustion. Orlando was glad there wasn’t anything on his program for the next day. It would give him time to get settled and recover from the jetlag before he started seeing Sydney’s sights.

Among a throng of people he reached the exit and headed to the taxi rank. Orlando was dismayed at the queue of people waiting for a taxi, and then surprised at how quickly it was moving. Before long he was at the head of the queue.

“Taxi, sir?” the concierge asked, already reaching to open the back door of the first taxi in the rank.

“Yes, thanks,” Orlando said, pushing his luggage trolley towards the taxi. He smiled hesitantly at the taxi driver as the man expertly slung his bags into the boot. Assured that his bags were stowed, Orlando climbed into the backseat.

“Where to?” the driver asked as soon as he sat behind the wheel.

“Harbourside Hotel, please,” Orlando replied, trying to hold back a yawn.

“Long flight, mate?” The driver asked as he glanced at Orlando in the rear view mirror.

Orlando nodded. “Yeah, sorry. I wasn’t able to sleep on the plane at all.”

The driver nodded in understanding. “Cramped spaces, too much noise, there’s always someone bumping into you…”

“Something like that,” Orlando agreed, yawning again. “Sorry, I can’t seem to stop.”

“No worries, mate, we’ll have you there in quick time and you’ll be able to drop into bed soon.” Silence fell in the taxi as the driver focused on his driving and Orlando focused on trying to stay awake. 

A short time later the driver pulled up to a white building, with _Harbourside Hotel_ in blue letters on a white sign.

Orlando opened the door and almost stumbled out of the car, his vision was quite blurry too and he blamed his exhaustion.

The driver helped him get the bags inside and left again with a generous tip, saying, “Ask for Jacko if you need a taxi again, they know me here.”

Orlando was glad to see there were no other people waiting to check in and he quickly registered and was then showed to his room. The porter placed his bags on the luggage stand and then left. Orlando sighed with relief when the door closed and he was finally able to relax. 

He took a quick look around the room, as much as his eyes let him see, noticing the great view of Sydney harbour from his window, but then decided he really needed to sleep.

Pulling the blinds closed, Orlando undressed and crawled into bed. Before he had properly settled he was asleep.

 

The next couple of days, Orlando noticed that his vision went up and down, particularly when he was tired. Using his spectacles did help, but he couldn’t ignore the fact that his condition was worsening.

Refusing to let this discourage him, he set out to look around Sydney’s sights. The famous Opera House was at the top of his list, because ever since he’d seen the picture on his mum’s calendar as a child, he had wanted to see it in reality and it didn’t disappoint.

He had taken his camera, but wasn’t always certain if the pictures were sharp, so he asked someone to take a picture for him once or twice and even overcame his reluctance to get photographed, because he realised that when he returned home, his friends would like to see him in some of the pictures.

The next day he decided he wanted to visit the Sydney Aquarium on Darling Harbour. When he realised how dark it was, he wondered if he was going to regret his choice. But he persevered, making sure he stayed out of the way of the other people viewing the displays. It was very scary to try and navigate his way just from the lights on the displays, having everything around him be in total darkness.

Quite taken with the Mermaid Lagoon when he viewed it from the top and relieved that it was quite light due to the glass roof of the room, Orlando decided it would be worth it to brave the ramp down to view it from below. He clung tightly to the white handrail, standing out so starkly in the gloom of the ramp, and slowly made his way down, trying not to be jealous of the people easily passing him. 

He got a few odd looks from people who had passed him on the way down when they passed him again as they were going up, but Orlando ignored them and continued his slow, careful journey. He’d made it this far and he was damn well going to see the dugongs up close and _nothing_ was going to stop him.

When he reached the bottom of the ramp Orlando stepped through the doorway that led to the glass tunnel and stared about him in awe. Being able to see the Dugongs and the spotted Eagle Ray swimming easily by, with nothing but a glass wall between him and them, was totally worth the scary trip down in the dark. His progress through the tunnel surrounding the pool was easily as slow as his journey down the ramp, but this time it was so he could get his fill of watching these amazing animals move so gracefully through the water.

  
[](http://s21.photobucket.com/albums/b261/Doylebaby/?action=view&current=fead82de.jpg)[](http://s21.photobucket.com/albums/b261/Doylebaby/?action=view&current=5803447b.jpg)[](http://s21.photobucket.com/albums/b261/Doylebaby/?action=view&current=1cf2175b.jpg)[](http://s21.photobucket.com/albums/b261/Doylebaby/?action=view&current=666a6e2b.jpg)[](http://s21.photobucket.com/albums/b261/Doylebaby/?action=view&current=48f979ee.jpg)

Orlando wandered through the Aquarium and ended up in the Reef Theatre, with its floor to ceiling window into the oceanarium and captivating music that so fitted the surroundings. Happy to have made the decision to visit even though it was darker and more difficult to navigate than he’d expected, because he would have missed so much beauty, Orlando knew he would never forget this awesome experience.

After the Aquarium, it was almost inevitable to go to the Wildlife Park, which was right next to the Aquarium. He walked around in the tropic butterfly garden and watched the Wallabies and Wombats, but he had kept the best for last.

Orlando made his way to the open air rooftop of the park where visitors had the chance to see koalas up close. Holding them was no longer allowed but he couldn’t pass up the chance to touch one.

Pulling his spectacles from his breast pocket as he stepped out on the deck, Orlando tripped over an empty buggy and would have fallen flat on his face, if someone hadn’t grabbed his arm and prevented him from going down.

“Thanks,” he said to the man who still held his arm. “I’m fine,” he slowly pulled his arm from the man’s grip, with a nod.

The man smiled. “Those things are a menace,” he remarked motioning at the buggy.

Orlando agreed, put on his glasses, then he thanked the man again and walked over to check out where he had to be, unaware of the man staring after him with a frown.

There were a couple of koalas with their carers and for each there was a queue of excited children and parents, waiting for their turn.

Orlando picked a line and waited patiently for his turn. He noticed that the koala in question seemed barely interested in all the attention, more intent on nibbling at the leaves his carer provided, only occasionally looking around as eager hands patted its fur.

The shouting of the excited kids did not seem to faze the creature at all.

Finally Orlando’s turn had come and he quietly said, “Hello gorgeous.” Slowly he ran a knuckle down its back.

The koala turned large eyes on him and the carer, whose name tag read Steve, said. “You’ve managed to snag Lucky’s attention, mate. She doesn’t react to all the kids’ shouting, but she sure is reacting to your voice. Do you work with animals yourself?”

Orlando shook his head, scratching behind Lucky’s ear. “I’m a teacher, I handle kids,” he replied with a smile.

Steve laughed, “Different kind of animal.”

Lucky’s front paw closed around the edge of Orlando’s shirt sleeve and he looked at Steve to see if that was alright. 

The man shrugged. “Lucky likes you, she may want-” He stopped talking when Lucky reached out another paw. 

After a quick look at the man beside him and the nod of permission he received, Orlando accommodated Lucky when she climbed into his arms.

[ ](http://s21.photobucket.com/albums/b261/Doylebaby/?action=view&current=9f0669c8.jpg)

“Fiona! Come over here,” Steve called out to the woman who took the pictures of the visitors and koalas for the visitors to buy as mementos at the end of their visit to the park.

She hurried over and judging by her face, she was quite surprised at what she saw. She glanced at Steve. “She did that herself?”

Her colleague nodded and Fiona smiled at Orlando. “I’m impressed.” 

She quickly started snapping pictures and Orlando, holding the soft furry creature, thought he hadn’t been this happy in quite some time.

After a while Lucky indicated she wanted back to her branch and Orlando let her go her way, giving her a final pat. “Thanks for making this day a brilliant one,” he murmured softly.

He shook hands with Steve and nodded at Fiona, who called him back. She wrote something on a slip of paper and then handed it to him. “This will give you two for the price of one. You deserve two photographs, you’re special.” She winked and with a shy smile Orlando took the tickets. 

He then looked for an empty table and ordered lunch. His encounter with Lucky had really lightened his spirits and he was looking forward to buying some postcards when he picked up his pictures from the gift shop. He wanted to send one to his former colleagues and to Dom and Billy, to let them know he had made it safely to Australia and was having a good time.

The walk back to the hotel was reasonably short and Orlando was glad to be back, his vision was getting a little blurry again and it was still a scary experience. He supposed he should carry his cane with him for when this occurred, but he just wasn’t ready yet to admit to strangers that his eyesight wasn’t what it should be.

He went up to his room and contemplated ordering room service, but he actually wanted to get his postcards in the mail and it would be a good idea to eat in the dining room. All too soon he wouldn’t be able to see anything, so he should take the opportunity he had now to see as much as he could rather than hiding away in his room.

He showered and changed, wrote the cards and brought them to reception where they assured him they would be sent in the post that day.

A little apprehensive, Orlando headed to the dining room; he still wasn’t comfortable around a lot of people, especially when his vision was this blurry.

He was so busy looking around nervously for any obstacles he could trip over that he almost bumped into the host standing just inside in the restaurant entrance.

“I’m sorry,” Orlando apologised, feeling more than a little flustered.

“No problem, sir. Please follow me.”

Orlando followed the host and hardly dared look up from watching his feet, afraid people had seen him stumbling into the restaurant. His confidence had taken quite a blow due to all his previous accidents and he was very hesitant and nervous in new places, particularly if they weren’t well-lit. He couldn’t really expect a restaurant to be lit up like an operating theatre. 

He would really have to start using his cane soon to prevent these incidents from happening. At least if people saw the cane they might not get annoyed with him when he walked into or tripped over clearly visible objects.

“And so we meet again,” an unfamiliar voice said when Orlando was led to an already occupied table. Startled he looked up and blinked, his fuzzy eyesight didn’t help at all as he tried to place the man at the table. He was also not happy about having to share a table, but the host had already pulled his chair back for him and Orlando didn’t feel confident enough to protest and attract even more attention.

He sat down and tried to focus on his unexpected table-mate, but still couldn’t see anything familiar about him. “I-I’m sorry, have we met?”

The man put a hand over his heart theatrically. “I’m wounded! I hope my heart can take it.”

Orlando was unable to hold back a grin at the man’s antics. “Sorry, I hope your heart is strong enough. I really don’t know though… Where?”

The man laughed. “It was very briefly, this afternoon on the rooftop at the wildlife park – the lethally dangerous kiddie stroller?”

The man’s words sparked the memory in Orlando. “Oh right… You prevented me from falling flat on my face. Sorry, I wasn’t wearing my glasses at the time.”

“That’s right. I’m Josh, Josh Duhamel, visiting Australia for the first time.”

[ ](http://pics.livejournal.com/doylebaby/pic/000bpzp1/)

“Orlando Bloom, it’s also my first visit.”

After the introduction Orlando had quite an enjoyable evening. The American and he had a lot in common and it turned out they were both going to do an outback tour.

After dinner they rode up in the lift to their floors, Orlando had to get off one floor below Josh and they wished each other a very good time in Australia.

Later in bed, Orlando realised he hadn’t told Josh he was leaving the next day for Adelaide, but maybe they would bump into each other again during breakfast.

 

The next morning Orlando packed his things and phoned for a porter. He missed Josh during breakfast, but couldn’t hang around; he needed to get to the airport soon to make his flight. 

 

Orlando stepped into the taxi, pleasantly surprised to see Jacko again and with a last look at the Sydney Opera House, he left for the airport.

tbc

Pictures in the Sydney Aquarium:

1 and 2 are Dugongs  
3 and 4 are Eagly Rays (the first one is eating a lettuce leaf *g* not sticking his tongue out)  
5 is the shark tank


	4. Chapter Four

**Part Four**

The flight from Sydney to Adelaide took a little over two hours and went smoothly. The trip to the hostel was short and Orlando quickly registered before going down to the office of the company that organised the outback tours.

JACKMAN’S OUTBACK TOURS the sign over the door said.

Orlando went inside. There was a woman on the phone behind the reception desk and a girl stood waiting for her turn. She smiled brightly at him as soon as she noticed him and Orlando nodded politely at her.

As soon as the woman was done on the phone she helped the girl and then it was Orlando’s turn, while the girl hung around, apparently waiting for someone.

He showed his vouchers and the woman smiled. “You’re staying in the hostel around the corner?” And at Orlando’s nod, she continued. “Make sure you’re here at 6:30 am tomorrow morning.” She then handed him a sheet of paper. “Here is a list of things you are required to bring on the trip. You will have received the same list when you made reservations; this is just so you can check you have everything necessary. If there’s anything you don’t have, there’s a camping and outback equipment store down the road; they can provide whatever you’re missing.”

Orlando took the list and smiled. “Thanks, I will certainly check everything twice.”

Behind him the door opened and two men entered the office. One of them had reddish blond hair. The taller of the two was a familiar face to Orlando. He recognized his acquaintance from Sydney despite his blurry vision.

“Josh!”

“Hey, Orlando, fancy meeting you here! Don’t tell me, you’re on the tour tomorrow?”

Orlando nodded, happy that he would know someone on this adventure. “Yes, you too I gather?”

Josh nodded.

The man Josh had come in with stepped closer. “Hi, I’m Dave Wenham, one of the tour guides for the trip leaving tomorrow, nice to meet you both.”

They shook hands and Orlando went back to the reception desk with Josh, neither of them noticed the girl’s sudden interest in David Wenham and her serious conversation with him while glancing at the two men more than once.

When Josh had received his list as well, he and Orlando were ready to go back to the hostel, but Wenham called out at them.

“Hey fellas, this is Sandy Benedict, she’ll be on the expedition with us tomorrow too.”

Both men introduced themselves, but Josh and Orlando quickly excused themselves, declining an invitation from Ms Benedict to have lunch with her.

*

The next morning, Orlando gathered his belongings. He briefly contemplated leaving his cane behind, but it wasn’t really in the way, so he left it where it was.

The items he didn’t need on the tour were stored in a baggage locker at the hostel and then he left for the tour company.

Orlando nodded at Josh, who already sat in the back of the four-wheel drive station wagon, which would be their transportation during the trip, yawning at the early hour. He pushed past Sandy Benedict who sat on the second seat, directly behind the driver’s seat, to take his seat next to Josh.

Just before Orlando could sit down the door opened and David pushed a bag on the seat beside Josh.

“Sorry fellas, have to confiscate these seats for more gear. Josh, why don’t you sit in the front with me? You’re the tallest so you’ll probably appreciate the extra leg-room. Orlando you can keep Sandy company.” Wenham grinned at both of them, seeming to dare them to object to the travel arrangements.

Orlando pulled a face. Ms Benedict reminded him in some ways of Simon and the last thing he wanted was to sit next to her. He manoeuvred himself past the seats and an expectant looking Ms Benedict again and got out of the car.

“Isn’t there a free seat left in the other car?” he asked Wenham, who was collecting the final pieces of baggage and equipment.

The man glanced briefly at him, but went on with loading everything into the car. “Why, you don’t fancy sitting next to Sandy?”

“Not particularly,” Orlando grumbled.

Wenham shrugged. “Sorry, but with two couples, they’re fully loaded. I guess you’ll have to grin and bear it, mate.”

“Great!” Orlando sighed and slammed his hand on the bonnet of the car in frustration.

Hugh Jackman, the other driver and guide came over and started helping David packing the last things in the car. “What’s up with him?” he asked, nodding at Orlando who had wandered away from the car.

David shrugged. “No idea, something’s crawled up his arse. Seems to me he’s a mummy’s boy who’s used to getting everything his own way.”

Hugh rolled his eyes. “There’s more to this isn’t there? Stop being an arse, Dave!”

Wenham grumbled. “What the hell makes you think it’s _my_ doing?” Hugh was way too perceptive.

Hugh lifted the last of the bags into the station wagon and then turned to Wenham. “You’ve known him for less than thirty minutes, Dave, give the guy a break,” he said seriously.

David sighed dismissively, “Yeah, yeah.” He walked around the car and gave a thumbs up signal to Sandy before settling behind the wheel, sounding the horn. Alerting Orlando to the fact they were going to leave.

Hugh returned to his own vehicle, nearly bumping into Orlando who was walking back slowly, postponing the moment when he’d have to get back in the car. “Hi, you must be Orlando?” Hugh held out his hand to the young man.

Orlando nodded, blinking as he tried to bring Hugh’s face into focus; his glasses were in his bag in the car. “Hi, nice to meet you,” he murmured, shaking Hugh’s hand.

“Time to climb aboard so we can head out, mate,” Hugh gently urged him on.

“Yeah, I’m going,” Orlando grimaced, reluctance in every line of his body. Hugh wondered just what had made the man feel so out of sorts about the trip when he’d chosen it himself. He glared at Dave, who just shrugged at him.

Orlando slid into his seat and pulled his glasses from his bag. He put them on and then he looked out the window at the man he had just shaken hands with and whistled softly. “Should wear my glasses all the time,” he said quietly as he watched the handsome guide climb into the other car. Tall, well-muscled, and with a neatly groomed beard, it was undeniably what Orlando liked in a man.

“What was that?” Sandy bent over and asked him, making sure their shoulders touched.

Orlando pulled away as if stung and edged closer to the window in an effort to create as much space between him and the woman he was being forced to share the back seat with as he could. “Nothing,” he replied shortly. 

He hoped Sandy would get tired of his lack of conversation soon and change seats with Josh who winked over his shoulder at him. Orlando grinned back, glad there was a least one person he’d get along with in the car.

“All right people, we’re off.” Dave said as he started the car. “We’ll be travelling to the Flinders Ranges. I hope none of you suffers from vertigo, because we have camels waiting to take you on a ride later on today.”

Sandy squealed with excitement and Orlando rolled his eyes.

With only a brief stop to have some lunch and take some pictures, they made good progress. Sandy had indeed grown tired of Orlando’s one word answers and had changed places with Josh, for which Orlando was extremely grateful. The change in his demeanour was obvious, but he was unaware of the glare that David Wenham sent his way.

They arrived at the edge of the Flinders Ranges in the early afternoon and the camels were ready and waiting for them.

Orlando hesitated when his vision seemed to grow blurrier and he turned away, rubbing his eyes. It was exhausting to try and focus on everything knowing it wouldn’t help at all.

“Are you okay, Orlando?” Hugh Jackman ambled over, wanting to make sure the young man was all right and Dave was just imagining things – or making things up. Something didn’t quite sit right with what Dave had told him and what Hugh had observed of Orlando.

Nodding, Orlando quickly put his glasses on again. “Yeah, just a bit tired, that’s all.”

“No worries, mate.” Hugh patted his shoulder. “You know where to find me if something’s the matter, right?”

Orlando smiled warmly, appreciating Hugh’s concern, it meant the man was a sharp observer, but he didn’t want him to guess what was wrong. The last thing he wanted or needed was a stranger’s pity. “Thanks, Mr Jackman, I will.”

“Hugh, please.” Hugh watched Orlando as he prepared to climb onto a camel when David called out.

“Why don’t you sit on this camel with Sandy, Orlando, she thinks it’s a bit scary.”

Hugh noticed how Orlando’s face darkened with anger and irritation. “No thanks. If she needs help _you_ go and sit with her. That’s your job not mine!”

Hugh hid his smile as he watched Ms Benedict’s disappointed face. What concerned him more, though, was the flash of anger that crossed David’s and he shook his head. Now he knew exactly what was going on. 

“Bloody moron,” he muttered, he was going to give David a piece of his mind later. He was being paid to be a tour guide, not play silly buggers on behalf of a love-sick client, particularly when it was very obvious Orlando wasn’t the least bit interested in the girl.

One of the camel drivers had climbed onto Ms Benedict’s camel behind her and judging by her expression, it wasn’t at all to her liking. Too bad for her!

Orlando decided he wasn’t going to let anyone spoil his holiday, least of all that silly woman and the obnoxious Wenham guy.

Josh’s camel decided to overtake him and the American waved at him, turning slightly to take a picture of Orlando who just grinned at him. Now there was someone he had hit it off with, Josh was quickly becoming a good friend.

His eyes slid to the other tour guide, who was now on horseback keeping an eye on things. Orlando had to admit that Hugh Jackman was a fine-looking sight to his eyes… as blurry as they were.

Not that he was looking for someone – that would hardly be fair. He didn’t expect anyone would be happy to be lumbered with someone who was going to lose his vision very soon.

Orlando expected his life to change completely when he returned home from his holiday. He would have to find another flat, preferably one without stairs. One that would allow a dog, because he was sure he would need a guide dog at some point. At least the dog would provide him with some company, because he would probably be alone for the rest of his life.

These thoughts were rather depressing and Orlando decided to push them to the back of his mind and get back to the here and now, sitting on a camel, getting rocked gently by this ‘ship of the desert’.

Hugh came up to ride beside him and looked up at Orlando. “No seasickness?” he asked with a grin.

Orlando shook his head and grinned back. “Not at all, I’m loving this!”

“Good on you, mate,” Hugh laughed in approval and rode off to check on the others, leaving Orlando to his own thoughts.

Orlando stared after the attractive tour guide and then shook himself. Nothing could come of his attraction to Hugh, he would just have to accept that.

tbc


	5. Chapter Five

**Chapter Five**

The journey by camel took about two hours with several breaks along the way before they rode into their camp for the night.

The cars with their bags and equipment had been driven to the camp by David and a local, so now they had to put up the tents.

“I’m sorry folks, we had a bit of a mishap last time with the modern tents, so we had to revert to the old fashioned ones,” Hugh told them as he handed out the tent bags.

Hugh made sure that Orlando and Josh were sharing one tent together and that Sandy Benedict’s tent was on the other side of the camp. It was his job to ensure _all_ his clients had an enjoyable trip and while it didn’t seem possible with Sandy’s determination to snag Orlando, Hugh was more inclined to be sympathetic to Orlando. There was nothing worse than being pursued relentlessly by someone who just wouldn’t take a hint.

Orlando smiled at him gratefully, and then set about helping Josh get the tent up. It wasn’t a great success; he had tripped over the lines twice and once had even managed to dislodge the tent pegs resulting in the tent collapsing on one side.

Exasperated, Josh had asked him to stay at a safe distance, while he finished the job alone.

Frowning when he noticed Josh was doing all the work, Hugh wandered over. “What’s wrong, why aren’t you helping Josh?” he asked Orlando.

Orlando felt rather stupid and cleaned his glasses. He couldn’t tell the truth, that he hadn’t seen the damned lines, but he also didn’t want Hugh to think he wasn’t able to pull his weight. 

“I’m a little clumsy unfortunately,” he said, unable to stop the blush from staining his cheeks. “And Josh said he would manage better on his own. Is there something else I can do to help out? As long as it isn’t…” He waved to where Sandy was struggling to set her tent up, until David Wenham stepped in to give her a hand.

Hugh nodded and gestured towards the cars. “You can unpack the pots and pans so we can start on dinner as soon as everyone has their tent set up, if you would, mate.”

Happy to be able to do something useful, Orlando headed for the station wagon and opened the back door. There was a foldable table, which he lifted out and unfolded, setting it up on a level bit of ground. Then he pulled a rattling load of pots and pans out of the car.

He was about to set them on the table when he received a shove against his shoulder and the whole bunch of cooking gear slammed against the table and then dropped to the dirt.

Orlando whirled around. “What the hell are you playing at?” he yelled at David Wenham standing behind him.

Wenham glared at him and pointed at the other side of the camp, where Sandy was fixing the last bits of her tent. 

“You could’ve given her a hand, you lazy bastard,” he snarled at Orlando. “Are you waiting for something better to come along?” He pushed against Orlando’s shoulder. “The way you keep giving her the cold shoulder, you seem to imagine you’re quite something, aren’t you?” and he gave another shove to Orlando’s shoulder.

Orlando slapped his hand away, annoyed and irritated that Wenham seemed intent on pushing him together with Sandy for some odd reason.

Their quarrelling had attracted the attention of the others and Josh and Hugh were making their way over, while Sandy stopped with what she was doing and watched; the look on her face a little triumphant.

“Don’t touch me again,” Orlando warned David, fed up with the man’s constant hassling.

“Or what?” David taunted, raising his hand to push against Orlando again.

Quick as lightning Orlando grabbed David’s arm and twisted it behind his back. “Or I may have to hurt you in return,” he growled low into David’s ear, ignoring the man’s gasp of pain. And then louder he said, “I’m sick and tired of your meddling. In case you’ve forgotten, I’ve paid a great deal of money for this holiday. It’s not up to you, or her…”   
He nodded at Sandy still watching from a distance. “To decide who I will socialise with. I’ll say this one more time so there’s no mistake: I’m. Not. Interested.” He let go of David now and turned away to pick up the fallen pots and pans.

“You arrogant bastard, still think you’re too good for her, don’t you?” David stomped after him.

“Stop this right now, Dave!” Hugh ordered, but Wenham ignored him.

Orlando sighed and put the cooking stuff on the table and then turned back to face the idiot Wenham. “Listen, you obnoxious fool. Even here in the outback I’m sure you’ve heard of homosexuals. Gays? She has got the wrong equipment for me to even be remotely interested! Now get OFF my back!” Orlando stalked towards his tent and missed David lunging towards him with raised fists, only to be held back forcefully by Josh and Hugh.

Orlando didn’t care, he threw a furious glare at Sandy, who shrank back and then he disappeared into his tent, wishing he could slam a door closed to vent his frustration, but it wasn’t to be and he sank down on the air mattress.

After a couple of minutes the tent flap was pushed aside and Hugh crawled inside. “Is it safe to enter?” he asked.

Orlando shrugged and motioned for him to sit down.

Hugh sat on Josh’s air bed. “Are you okay?” he asked.

Orlando shook his head. “Not really. This is supposed to be a special holiday and Wenham and that stupid girl have managed to spoil it so far. What gives them the right to tell me who to like, or love for that matter?”

“I had a chat with Dave and apparently Sandy roped him in to helping her get your attention. Your rejections angered Dave a great deal.”

“I don’t give a fuck what it did to him, he doesn’t have the right and neither does she,” Orlando replied heatedly and rubbed his eyes in frustration.

Hugh held up his hands in a soothing manner. “Orlando, I agree with you, I’m just explaining Dave’s motivations.”

Orlando turned away from Hugh, frustrated that he couldn’t even voice his anger. “I couldn’t care less what his motivations are… were. They’ve done a great job ruining my holiday and we still have seven days to go. Just fucking wonderful!” He turned around and tried to scramble out of the tent a little too fast, falling over Josh’s bags at the foot of the air mattress.

Hugh managed to grab hold of Orlando before he could face-plant on the ground.

“You weren’t joking were you when you said you were a bit clumsy.” Hugh remarked as he held Orlando until he had found his balance again.

A little flustered Orlando pulled away, being held by Hugh felt good, more than good and it shouldn’t because he couldn’t have feelings for anyone now, not in his condition.

“No, I wasn’t joking, I’m sorry,” he muttered not looking at Hugh. “Thanks for saving my nose, though.”

“No problem,” Hugh acknowledged Orlando’s sudden withdrawal and took it for embarrassment. “I’ve sent Dave on an errand and he won’t be back until tomorrow. You’re welcome to come and join us, I’m sure Sandy will steer clear of you now and if she doesn’t I’ll talk to her.”

“I’ll be out in a little while.” Orlando promised; he had to get himself under control. The brief moment of feeling safe and secure had confused him greatly. He’d never felt that way with _anyone_ before.

He waited a few minutes after Hugh left, taking a couple of deep breaths to steady himself. Orlando left the tent and as soon as he emerged Josh came towards him.

“Are you okay, man?” he asked and Orlando appreciated the genuine concern the man displayed.

He nodded and smiled. “Yeah, I’m fine, thanks.”

Hugh waved them over and told them dinner was ready and the group settled down to eat.

During dinner Orlando struck up a conversation with Emilio Sanchez from Puerto Rico and his wife Luisa, one of the two couples on the tour. They were both teachers as well and Orlando really enjoyed comparing teaching methods and usage of materials with them.

Hugh announced that after dinner local Aboriginal Elders would join them. “It is a tradition for Elders to specialise in one or more areas. Some are healers, others are herbalists and there are those who practise traditional and sacred ceremonies and activities. However tonight we will be visited by story tellers.”

When the Elders arrived they were greeted with respect by Hugh and he introduced his group to them. When it was Orlando’s turn, one of the Elders stepped forward and indicated the space above and in front of Orlando.

“A dark cloud is above you,” the old man said cryptically.

Hugh stepped forward, as if to stop the man from continuing, but Orlando held his hand up.

“It’s alright, Hugh, thanks, but I can handle it. Please go on,” he nodded at the Elder.

“Gili- light will leave you… soon.”

Orlando paled a little, but after everything he had learned about his condition, it didn’t come as a surprise. He thought he’d have a bit more time, that’s all. “Thank you for telling me,” he said courteously to the Elder.

The man nodded with a grave face before following the others to the camp-fire.

Hugh had stayed behind and he gently touched Orlando’s back, not sure why he felt compelled to offer sympathy and support. “Are you okay?” he asked.

Orlando slowly nodded. “Yes, well a little shaken, but…” he waved his hand dismissively. “Let’s go listen to their stories.” Manoeuvring carefully, the darkness making him quite uncertain as he could see nothing but the soft glow of the camp-fire, he took his place by the fire.

Hugh was about to follow Orlando when another of the Elders approached him. “Your skills will soon be called upon.”

Hugh frowned and opened his mouth to ask for clarification, but the man had already moved to sit by the fire, listening intently to the one currently speaking to the group.

After an enjoyable evening and thanking the Elders for their presence, Hugh turned to the group. “We’ve had quite an enervating day and with another long day ahead of us, travelling to Coober Pedy, I suggest we all retire. Yuan and Mei Chang have agreed to change places with Josh and Orlando. From now on they will travel in my car.”

There was a murmur of assent and acceptance, except from Sandy, but no one seemed really bothered by the glum expression on her face.

“Thanks for arranging that,” Orlando told Hugh. “I really appreciate it.”

“No worries, mate, have to keep the customer satisfied,” Hugh chuckled. “Good night!”

Of course. Orlando could kick himself for believing there were other reasons for Hugh to do this. But as he himself had pointed out to Wenham earlier, he had paid a lot of money for this holiday. “Good night,” he muttered, disappointed anyway, and headed into the tent he was sharing with Josh.

As he approached the tent he tripped over one of the tent pegs again, nearly bringing the whole tent down, but managed to get it straightened out before anyone noticed and quickly went inside.

“Mawhoehillyeedhouheyesjecked,” Josh mumbled around his toothbrush. 

Orlando scowled. “Come again?”

Josh rinsed and spat and then said in more understandable English. “I said: Man, you really need your eyes checked. That’s the third time you almost nose-dived over those lines.”

Orlando’s shoulders slumped. “I know, I’m a clumsy arse and for your information, I have an appointment when I get back home. I probably need new glasses, but I hate wearing the damned things!” He wasn’t lying about the appointment, just about the reason for it and the likely outcome.

Josh rolled his eyes. “Then why don’t you use contacts?”

Orlando looked at him incredulously. “Me… and contacts? Are you serious? I would probably poke my eye out at the first try and the other one when I’ve managed to shove the first lens somewhere around the back or something…”

Josh almost fell over he was laughing so hard. After calming down a little he nodded. “You’re probably right, better stay safe with glasses. But you don’t look bad in them, you know. You look kind of… adorable – in a dorky, nerdy sort of way.”

Flipping him off in a light-hearted way, Orlando was glad he had managed to circumvent the attention on his eyes. He quickly brushed his teeth and changed into his tracksuit bottoms and a long sleeved shirt before sliding into his sleeping bag.

“Night, Josh,” he said softly.

Josh mumbled a good night in return and soon soft snores came from their tent.

 

Outside, Hugh made one last round and stood for a minute, thinking back on the words of the Aboriginal Elder to Orlando and wondering about the meaning of them…

Oddly enough Orlando seemed to have understood what they meant.

There was more to him than a pretty face and Hugh didn’t know whether that was good or bad. The rather surprising revelation of Orlando being gay had brought about unexpected and unwanted thoughts though, something he didn’t want to examine any closer.

He stalked towards his own tent. Time for bed!

tbc


	6. Chapter Six

**Chapter Six**

They were woken up bright and early, because as Hugh told them, it was going to be a long journey.

Today they would explore the Oodnadatta track.

Orlando and Josh, now travelling with Emilio and Luisa Sanchez together in Hugh’s car, were listening intently to Hugh’s explanation of the historic Cameleers route.

“Originally the Muslim cameleers came from Afghanistan and India and they were in great demand. They helped construct the Overland Telegraph Line and inland railways, took part in exploration expeditions, and supplied mining towns and pastoral stations,” Hugh told them. “Aussies of the day depended heavily on their expertise and the outback wouldn’t be what it is today without their aid.”

Orlando couldn’t help staring at the back of Hugh’s head while he was talking, the glimpses he got through the rear-view mirror were fuzzy and every time their eyes met, it seemed, Hugh quickly looked away again. It made Orlando wonder if he had done something wrong.

With one tour guide already pissed off at him, it wouldn’t be a good thing to have the second one annoyed with him as well. It worried Orlando and he wasn’t listening to Hugh’s tales anymore, he stared out of the window without seeing anything and didn’t even realize the car had stopped until Josh called out to him.

Orlando looked up and shook his head when Josh asked if something was wrong. He rubbed his eyes, something that was becoming a habit with him, trying to focus _was_ exhausting, but that wasn’t the reason this time. He glanced at their tour guide, wishing he knew what was up with Hugh. Maybe he should just ask.

About to walk over, he stopped when the other car pulled up beside theirs and Sandy and Mr and Mrs Chang, a couple from Hong Kong, exited, with a less then cheerful Wenham getting out last. Orlando immediately turned away, he was in no mood to play nice and he decided to join the others who were unpacking their lunches.

The rest of the day there just didn’t seem any opportunity to talk to Hugh alone and in the end Orlando gave up, convinced Hugh was avoiding him.

The tents were set up once again and like the day before, Orlando unloaded the cooking equipment and made sure everything for dinner was unpacked. When he looked up Hugh stood watching from a distance and nodded briefly at him before turning away.

Orlando walked over to his tent and suddenly stopped, having a startling thought. Was Hugh avoiding him because he had revealed he was gay the day before? If that was the case… He felt quite sick at the thought and decided to skip dinner altogether.

Pushing the flap of the tent back he found Josh putting the air mattresses in place. “I’m not feeling too well,” Orlando announced. “I think I’m going to have an early night. Can you let the others know?”

Josh looked up. “Yeah, sure I can. Are you-” He stopped abruptly and narrowed his eyes. “There’s more to it, isn’t there? Talk to me Orlando, you can trust me.”

Orlando sank down on his air mattress and sighed. “I- It’s… It’s nothing, I just feel a bit queasy.”

“It’s Hugh, isn’t it?” Josh said shrewdly.

“How did you-” Orlando rolled his eyes at himself for falling for that trick when he saw Josh’s smirk. “Yes. We seemed to get along fine and today…” He shook his head. “I don’t know, but I’m sure he was avoiding me.”

Josh cocked his head. “Hugh was avoiding everyone today, not just you. Don’t read too much into it, buddy.” He stood. “You still don’t want to eat?”

Orlando shook his head. “No, thanks, I think an early night will do me good.”

After making sure Orlando really was okay, Josh left their tent and ran into Hugh almost immediately.

“Where’s Orlando? Dinner’s ready,” the tour guide announced.

“He wasn’t feeling very well, so he excuses himself, he’s going to crawl into bed.” Josh looked meaningfully at Hugh, biting his tongue not to let anything else slip out. “Maybe you should check on him?” he suggested.

Shaking his head, Hugh headed back to the fire. “Best leave him alone; it’s probably what he needs.”

Josh shrugged and went to the camp-fire to get his dinner.

*

Later that night Hugh made his rounds again, hesitating at Josh and Orlando’s tent. Josh was still sitting at the camp-fire and Hugh knew he should check on Orlando to see if he needed anything.

He pushed the tent flap aside and peered inside, noticing Orlando was asleep. He wasn’t sleeping peacefully though, he was thrashing around and Hugh wondered whether he had a fever and went into the tent.

He was about to feel Orlando’s forehead when Orlando started to mumble. “Not my eyes… please… no…!” The last word was shouted in terror.

Hugh frowned; it seemed Orlando was having a rather terrifying nightmare. Deciding he’d be better off awake, Hugh put a hand on Orlando’s shoulder and gently shook him. “It’s okay Orlando, you’re fine, it’s just a bad dream.”

Orlando turned on his side and seemed to settle down, and then he murmured sleepily, “No dream.”

Puzzled Hugh looked down at the man, waiting for him to explain himself, but Orlando’s breathing deepened and Hugh realized he was asleep. More than a little confused, Hugh left the tent. What could Orlando have meant when he said it was _no dream_? He shook his head and retired to his own tent, unable to shake the feeling that despite the sleepy state Orlando was in, his words were important.

With irritated movements he quickly prepared for bed, he should really get Orlando Bloom out of his head, the sooner the better.

 

*

Coober Pedy was the next stop on their tour, well known as the opal capital of the world with its underground opal mines. The ladies in their tour were especially excited to visit the local jewellery shops afterwards. 

At the mining site, they were met by a foreman who showed them around. “To anyone who knows something about mines, these many, many shafts out in the open field may look strange, but it works for us,” the man explained.

  
Coober Pedy   


He showed them rough opal, just brought up from one of the shafts.

He also told them how part of the population lived underground, which elicited mixed responses from the group.

After having been shown around in the underground community, they visited a few souvenir shops, most of them were underground too and according to Hugh there were even underground hotels, churches and an underground camp-site, but everyone opted for the above ground camp-site. 

Orlando was determined to bring back a souvenir for Dom and Billy. He spotted a rack of key chains, one had a silver kangaroo dangling from it, laid in with opal chips and he chose two of those and for himself he got a key chain with a silver koala with opal chips, to remind him a bit of Lucky. 

His attention went to Josh who was laughing his head off and after joining him Orlando understood why. Josh held a Kangaroo Scrotum bottle opener – for the friend who has everything already – it said. It was a rather strange sensation to be holding kangaroo balls. 

The shop owner assured them the kangaroo had not been killed for its scrotum, which didn’t really make it much better, but in the end Josh decided on another souvenir for his friend anyway. 

Unanimously it was decided to have dinner in town and then return to set up camp and see whether they would be lucky enough to spot some red kangaroos. 

Dinner was very enjoyable, Hugh had taken a seat beside Orlando, who was surprised but pleased that the man had sought him out. 

“So what do you do for a living?” Hugh asked as he finished the last of his dessert.

“I’m a teacher,” Orlando replied. “I’ve taken some time off to make this trip before-” he caught himself just in time, not wanting to reveal to Hugh the reason of this ‘sooner than planned’ holiday.

“Before?” Hugh asked, leaning a little closer.

“Before… well, a trip like this is a once in a lifetime experience I think and now seemed as good a time as any.” Orlando cursed inwardly at his slip of the tongue and hoped Hugh wouldn’t pursue it. 

Hugh nodded. “It’s quite expensive too, I can imagine that once you’re settled, maybe have bought a house, it’d be a bit more difficult to afford it.”

“True,” Orlando agreed. “Which is why I thought I should go for it now,” he said with a smile.

Hugh smiled back and Orlando’s heart skipped a beat. He immediately told said organ to behave, his heart wasn’t allowed this kind of behaviour, not anymore.

“Orlando? Are you okay?” Hugh enquired, concern evident in his voice. 

“Yes, I’m fine, just thinking about something,” Orlando confessed and he took his glasses off, rubbing his eyes, trying to ease his constantly fuzzy vision.

“You’re tired, aren’t you?” Hugh asked quietly. “You always rub your eyes when you are.”

Orlando looked up, trying to focus on Hugh’s face. “You’ve noticed that?” he asked in surprise. “You’re very perceptive.”

Hugh shrugged and cocked his head. “You’re my responsibility, I’m being paid to notice those things.”

“Ah… right.” Orlando felt disappointed. Every time he thought he sensed some interest from Hugh, the man seemed to retreat behind a professional façade as quickly as possible.

David Wenham, who sat at the other end of the table, indicated to Hugh that it was time to leave and Hugh stood. “All right, folks, it’s time to go if we want to have decent light to set up the tents.” 

The plan was to set up camp in the vicinity of the opal mines as that was closest to the area they would be departing from in the morning. 

Orlando stayed back from the activity, but didn’t ask for another chore. He was having a lot of trouble focussing, his vision was more blurry then he had experienced up to now and it was giving him a headache. 

Stumbling, he made his way to the car to find his bag for some much needed pain relief.

“God, how much did you drink? You must be completely wasted the way you’re staggering around, aren’t you ashamed of yourself?” 

The voice of David Wenham grated on Orlando’s nerves, but he was determined not to react and just find his painkillers and some water before his head exploded. He managed to find them without too much trouble, because he knew where he had put them. The bottles of water were in the back too and Orlando quickly took the pills, hoping they would start to work fast.

David grabbed his arm and spun him around. “I’m talking to you!” he snarled.

Orlando threw his arms out to balance himself, smacked into something and then stumbled into the car, one hand holding his head, the other hanging onto the car for dear life, because now he was dizzy as well.

“What the hell is going on here?” Hugh barked as he hurried toward them.

David stood holding his nose with one hand, blood dripping through his fingers, his other hand pointing at Orlando. “That drunken idiot broke my nose,” he accused.

Orlando slid slowly down the car to the ground, his head was thumping like mad and he was having trouble concentrating. 

Hugh scowled at David before kneeling down beside Orlando. He tossed over his shoulder to David, “He hasn’t had a single alcoholic drink all night, you moron! I bet you were harassing him again, weren’t you?” 

David growled and grumbled, but Hugh didn’t pay him any attention. “Orlando, what’s wrong?” he asked softly.

Orlando tried to look up, but gasped as everything spun violently. “Headache… Dizzy… Need to lie down.” 

Hugh nodded and took Orlando’s hand, his thumb softly caressing the skin. “Sit tight, mate. I’ll be right back.” He patted the man’s hand, then stood and walked over to David who was still holding his nose. “If we didn’t need another experienced driver, I’d flatten you, you bloody fool! Get a grip on yourself, Wenham or you’re finished.”

He turned away without listening to David’s spluttered objections. “Luisa, would you please take a look at Wenham’s nose for me? There’s a First Aid kit in the car. I’m going to take Orlando to his tent, he’s not feeling well.”

Luisa Sanchez nodded. “You go and take care of that poor boy. Mrs Chang and I will see to Mr. Wenham.” She waved him away with a smile. 

Hugh tapped his hat gratefully and returned to Orlando who was still sitting on the ground. Hugh crouched down beside him again. “I’m going to get you to your tent now, mate,” he murmured, gently helping Orlando up. 

Orlando moaned in agony and kept his eyes closed, trusting Hugh to guide him around any obstacles. 

Hugh wrapped an arm around Orlando’s waist and supported him to his tent, where Josh sat with his iPod, ear buds in, having missed all the commotion. He immediately pulled out the ear buds and tossed his iPod on the bed to help Hugh. “What happened?” he asked. 

“David and Orlando had another confrontation. David assumed Orlando was drunk – which is none of his business anyhow – while Orlando was looking for painkillers. I don’t know what happened next. I _do_ know Dave’s nose is probably broken.”

Josh scowled. “Did Orlando do that? Well, serves him right. That asshole has been on his case from the moment we left.” 

The tent flap was pushed aside and Emilio Sanchez looked inside. “I’ve grabbed Orlando’s bag from the car, I thought he might need his things,” he said, shoving the bag in Hugh’s direction. “Is he okay?” he asked concerned. 

Hugh nodded. “Yes, just a very bad headache. We’ll get him settled, Emilio, thank you.” Hugh smiled at the dark-haired man, who, after another concerned glance at Orlando, left again. 

Josh and Hugh managed to take off Orlando’s jeans and get his tracksuit bottoms on. 

“Better take off his glasses before he crushes them,” Josh said and put them in the case in Orlando’s bag, not remembering that Orlando usually put his glasses beside his mattress. 

In the meantime Orlando tried to be very still, hoping everyone would leave soon so he could lay there in silence. If they wanted to know what had happened, they’d have to come back in the morning. 

“Orlando?” Hugh kept his voice as quiet as possible. “Is there anything you need?” 

Orlando opened his eyes and despite his headache, wished Hugh would lay down beside him and hold him until morning, or until the worst of the pain had passed. Unrealistic, he knew, because it was the last thing he needed with a headache. 

“A bottle of water, please,” he replied, before closing his eyes, as the whole world started spinning again. 

“You got it, mate,” Hugh promised and after another gentle pat on Orlando’s arm he left the tent, followed by Josh, who assured Orlando he would be very quiet when he went to bed.

Orlando sighed with relief when he was finally alone and carefully turned on his side, hoping that sleep would come soon.

tbc


	7. Chapter Seven

**Chapter Seven**

It was hours later when Orlando woke up because he needed to pee. The intense pounding in his head had receded to a nagging headache. He sat up as carefully as he could. It was completely dark and Orlando felt around for his torch which he usually kept beside his glasses on the floor. 

Then he realized he hadn’t been able to unpack, so it was very likely the torch was still in his bag. He then tried to find his spectacles and cursed softly when he couldn’t find those either. The person who had helped him to bed had apparently put them away, perhaps also in his bag.

Orlando again felt around this time for the running shoes he’d been wearing earlier. He managed to locate those at the foot of his mattress and shoved his feet into them. He made a half-hearted attempt at finding his bag, but the pressure on his bladder indicated that there wasn’t much time, so he abandoned his attempts and scrambled to his knees. 

He held his hands out and slowly shuffled forward on his knees. He refused to think about the fact that he might very well have woken up blind. It was just that it was so dark in the tent. That’s why he couldn’t see anything. His night vision hadn’t been very good for a long time, and even before he left England, he hadn’t been able to see anything at all at night without at least _some_ light.

With a lot of fumbling Orlando managed to open the tent flap and crawled out of the tent. It wasn’t much better outside, with no moon it was pitch black and Orlando still couldn’t see. He shuffle-stepped to the left, towards the area Hugh had indicated earlier should be used for some privacy. 

“Damn! Where’s the moon when you need it,” he muttered when he tripped over something, barely managing to stay upright. 

Moving a little further away, and just when he figured he was far enough from the other tents, he heard a muffled voice. 

“Yeah, just going to take care of business, then I’ll join you.” 

Orlando sucked in a breath of trepidation, it sounded an awful lot like Wenham and the last thing he wanted was a confrontation in total darkness. 

He put more distance between himself and the tents, and thought he’d moved away from the voice as well, but since he was virtually blind he couldn’t guess the direction he was taking. Keeping his arms stretched out and taking shuffling steps, Orlando managed to avoid most bushes and other obstacles, until he figured there was enough distance between him and Wenham to finally take the pressure off his bladder.

He turned away from where he assumed the tents were and when he was done, Orlando turned back again. Then he realized that he had no idea which direction he’d come from. His eye condition made him blind in this complete darkness and because he had been more concerned with getting away from anyone wandering around he hadn’t counted his steps as he had done the night before, even though he’d had his torch then. 

“Oh shit!” he muttered and listened intently, maybe he would be able to hear voices, or hear someone moving about…

There wasn’t a single sound now though, nothing at all. Orlando decided he really needed to find his way back because without his jacket he was beginning to feel the cold.

Guessing the direction he’d come from, Orlando determinedly took a step. It was too bold a move because he pitched forward, landing on his hands and knees. He managed to get up without much difficulty, not having hurt himself; it did tell Orlando though that he had to tread really carefully, as many obstacles were hidden in the darkness.

He wasn’t ready to call for help yet; it would look really stupid when he was probably only a few yards away from the camp.

A shuffle step at a time seemed to work best. His hands held out in front of him again as he moved, it was the only way for Orlando to get back to the tent. After a while he started to wonder when he would finally trip over a tent rope or fall on a tent. Being effectively blind, it was about the only way he would realize he’d made it back to camp.

When the terrain changed and became more uneven with every step, Orlando realized that something was seriously wrong. 

“Great,” he sighed. “Now I really look like a bloody fool. Guys?” he called out. “Hugh? Josh? Anyone? I’m sorry but I seem to have lost my way! Anyone still awake?”

The silence was deafening.

Orlando shivered and rubbed his arms, the thin, long-sleeved shirt he was wearing not nearly sufficient for these night temperatures. He needed to get back to the camp as soon as possible. 

Orlando set off again, wearily putting one foot in front of the other, slipping into a small hole, feeling bushes scrape against his tracksuit bottoms and after carefully feeling around with his feet before taking another step, getting out of it again. 

He called out again, a little louder this time, uncaring what anyone’s reaction would be, because he knew he was in trouble. He wasn’t going to find his own way back unless someone came with a torch to help him see where he was going. 

Determined not to give up though, Orlando started moving again, but this time his foot found only empty air and nothing could stop his fall. 

Falling… endless falling… 

He hit his head hard against something that felt like rock, scraped his arms, his face, his hands. Lost a shoe and finally reached the bottom, smacking down hard, losing consciousness on impact.

* 

Josh woke up on his stomach, his face pressed into his pillow, doing a good job of smothering himself. With a grunt he turned onto his side and noticed that the other bed was empty. “Hope he’s feeling better,” Josh mumbled and with a glance at his watch decided he could snooze for a bit until Orlando returned from whatever he was doing, probably taking a much needed piss. 

A while later Josh opened his eyes again and this time his look at his watch jetted him into action. He jumped up and quickly pulled on his clothes. He pushed the tent flap open and came nose to nose with Hugh who apparently had been about to come in. 

“How’s Orlando?” Hugh asked.

“Don’t know, haven’t you seen him?” Josh asked in surprise.

Hugh shook his head. “No, why?”

Josh crawled outside and stood up. “I woke up about forty minutes ago and he wasn’t here, I assumed he was going for…” he indicated the bushes over his shoulder. “He hasn’t returned though.”

Hugh frowned. “I’ve been up for over an hour and there’s no way he could have slipped past me. Knowing Orlando he would have tripped over something or other.”

The two men grinned at each other and then sobered, something was definitely wrong. 

“You’d think he would call out if there was a problem,” Hugh said, looking around, hoping to see Orlando stroll out of the scrub surrounding the camp and ask why they were standing there doing nothing. 

Josh scratched his head. “What if he can’t?” 

Hugh cursed quietly. “Let’s ask the others whether they’ve seen him.” At that moment Wenham first and Sandy moments later exited the same tent, followed by the two couples leaving their own tents.

“Something wrong?” David asked. 

“Has anyone seen Orlando this morning?” Hugh asked calmly.

David chuckled, it sounded weird with his nose all bandaged. “Don’t tell me he’s finally given up and returned to civilization.”

“Shut up, asshole!” Josh growled, his height letting him tower over Wenham and making the man back down.

“We think he went for a…” Hugh took a breath, reminding himself there were ladies present. “To the loo, but he hasn’t returned. What time this was, we don’t know, Josh first noticed he was gone about-” he checked his watch. “About an hour ago now, but he could just as well have gone out in the middle of the night.”

“Hang on,” David spoke up again. “I heard someone tramping around when I… went, but that was around three a.m.”

Hugh grabbed David’s arm. “Did you do anything – maybe try to get your own back?” he growled. 

David shook off Hugh’s hand. “No, I did not. There was no moon and it was impossible to recognize anyone without being close and since the other person was probably there for the same thing I was, I respected his privacy… and mine. I never saw who it was.”

“I’m sorry for asking, but did anyone go out at around three?” Hugh asked the others. Everyone shook their heads and Hugh sighed. “We can’t be sure, but it looks like it was Orlando, and we have to assume something has happened to him, he’s been out for over four hours and it’s been a cold night.”

“I’m sure he would have called out if he could.” Josh added in a worried voice. We’ll have to conduct a search.”

With everyone about to head in a different direction, Hugh called them back. “You don’t know the terrain and if you go searching for Orlando without any sort of plan, you’ll obliterate any tracks he’s made and we’ll have no way of knowing how far he wandered.” He turned to Josh. “I want you to check his bag for me; try to find out what he’s wearing, did he put extra clothes on before he went out?”

Josh nodded and headed back to the tent he shared with Orlando. He knelt beside Orlando’s air mattress and checked what was there. Orlando’s jacket which Hugh had taken off him the night before was still in the same place, his hiking boots were still set neatly beside his bag. He then lifted Orlando’s bag onto the mattress and unzipped it.

The first thing he noticed was the case for Orlando’s glasses and when he quickly opened it, it was obvious that Orlando hadn’t been able to find them, they were still in the case. He didn’t think Orlando carried more than two sweaters with him and both were still in his bag. Josh could only assume Orlando had left in just his long-sleeved shirt. 

He started to put everything back and slipped the spectacle case in the side pocket so it would be easier to find; his hand encountered a bunch of objects and a little curious he pulled them out. The first was Orlando’s flashlight. Josh rubbed his face, his worry growing. Then he looked at the other object and after fiddling with it a little, it became clear what it was and his eyes widened. 

“Fuck!” he exclaimed. This couldn’t be true!

Josh scrambled out of the tent to look for Hugh. The tour guide was nowhere in sight, but when Josh called out, he appeared out of the shrubbery. 

“Josh? What’s up?” When he noticed the distressed look on Josh’s face, Hugh’s own worry increased. “Speak to me, mate,” he urged.

Josh showed him a torch and a cane. “Orlando isn’t wearing a jacket or sweater, he doesn’t have his glasses or his flashlight, which is my fault since I put the glasses in his bag last night and I never took out the flashlight and I found this thing in the side pocket.”

Hugh frowned. “A collapsible cane; whatever for?”

“We call it an Identity Cane. It’s for someone who is visually impaired, to show the state of their vision to others, especially when they’re out in traffic. My Gran used to have one, that’s how I know,” Josh said flatly.

Hugh took off his hat in shock. “Are you saying… Orlando is…” he shook his head. “It would explain… Damn! Why didn’t he tell anyone?” He turned around in frustration, looking at the terrain Orlando had disappeared into. 

“He went out in the dark, without a torch, no glasses, and judging by this,” he pointed at the cane. “His vision isn’t exactly 20/20…” Hugh looked at Josh. “This complicates things considerably. Wenham!!!” he called out loudly. 

Apparently noticing Hugh’s agitation, Wenham came running. “What’s wrong?” he asked.

Hugh pointed at the station wagon. “Get on the radio to the hostel, have them look into Orlando’s registration. Find out who he has down for personal contact in case of an emergency. I need to know what his medical situation is.” 

Wenham went without protest, which was a bit of a surprise after his previous obnoxious behaviour; it seemed he understood the seriousness of the situation. 

Hugh looked at Josh. “I’ve been able to find Orlando’s tracks. Grab a bottle of water and follow behind me. Let’s hope he’s just sprained his ankle and it’s not something more serious…”

“I hope Orlando is alright,” Luisa Sanchez whispered, grasping her husband’s hand. “He’s such a sweet boy.” Her husband nodded in agreement. 

Hugh turned to Luisa. “I promise I will find him, Luisa.” He nodded at her and the others and then disappeared with Josh following hot on his heels.

tbc


	8. Chapter Eight

**Chapter Eight**

Orlando moaned in agony. His body hurt all over. He was lying on his stomach, his left arm trapped under him, and he couldn’t move. It wasn’t hard to work out what had happened. He had wandered off so far from the camp-site that he had stumbled into the mining area and fallen down a mineshaft.

In a great deal of pain and scared about the consequences of his fall – the impact on his head – he hadn’t tried to open his eyes yet. 

“Hugh..” he croaked, his thirst adding to his misery. “Please find me.”

 

* 

“How come we’re going in circles? Why can’t we find him? Orlando!” Josh asked Hugh in agitation and every few minutes shouted Orlando’s name.

Hugh stood and stretched, after having crouched down to examine new tracks. He took off his hat and wiped his forehead. Temperature was rising, another worry to add.

“Orlando was wandering around for a while, in circles, before he found more or less a straight path again. This way.” Hugh motioned at Josh and set off again. He was getting a very uneasy feeling and hoped he was wrong. 

After a few minutes, standing on the edge of the mining field, Hugh knew he wasn’t wrong. 

“Oh crap.” Josh gasped. “You don’t think… He fell down a shaft?” 

Hugh nodded and turned on his heels, setting off for the camp-site at a fast rate. 

“Hey!” Josh shouted after him. “Where are you going?” He started running too. 

“We need more men, and we need an underground search as well. Some shafts are connected to each other. If we try to find him by yelling down every shaft, it’d take weeks. There’s no way of knowing how many shafts he managed to avoid, or where exactly he wandered within the field

“Are you sure he’s down there somewhere?” Josh didn’t want to think of Orlando having fallen down one of those deep shafts. “Can he even survive a fall like that?”

Hugh stopped and turned to Josh, his face pale and serious. “I’m as sure as I can be, Josh, and we need help. _If_ Orlando has survived that fall... He’s running out of time. Come on!” Hugh increased his pace. 

When they arrived back at the camp-site, they were immediately surrounded by the others who wanted to know where Orlando was.

Hugh quickly told them what he could and then turned to David. “Do you know anything yet?”

Dave shook his head. “He has no relatives, he’s listed two friends as his contacts. They’re trying to call them right now. Taking the time difference into account it should be somewhere mid-evening in Britain. Hopefully they’re at home and know something.” 

Hugh sighed, it was the best they could do for now. “Dave, get on the radio again and ask for assistance from the local police. I’m going to see if the miners can give us a hand.” He was about to head off when he remembered the other members of his group. “I’m sorry, this ruins your holiday. Dave can take you to one of the hotels so you are more comfortable-”

He was interrupted by Yuan Chang. “We’re not leaving, Mr Jackman, we all care about Orlando and want to know that he is safe. Please, go and do what you need to do and if we can help in any way, let us know.”

The others nodded in agreement and Hugh smiled briefly. “We’re going to need coffee and water for the search parties, if you could see to that?”

He didn’t have to ask twice, and Hugh watched in surprise as they all quickly set to work. He and Dave climbed into their vehicles to get radio messages out and within the hour, the place was buzzing with people and vehicles arriving. 

Finally there was also an answer from Adelaide and they were patched through to Hugh immediately.

“We spoke to Mr Bloom’s friend, Mr Monaghan, and explained the situation. He has informed us that Mr Bloom has a severe eye disease called Retinitis Pigmentosa. When he left England, he could still see reasonably well, had moments when his eyesight became fuzzy, especially when tired, but Mr Monaghan also mentioned that in the dark Mr Bloom is virtually blind. He has given us the name of his physician should we need it, an ophthalmologist by the name of Hardy.”

Hugh listened to this and felt numb. How the hell had Orlando been able to do anything? Let alone go on a trip like this? He cleared his throat. “Prognosis?” 

“Total blindness, could be tomorrow, in a few weeks or a couple of years. It’s unpredictable apparently, but you have to be prepared that it could have happened already.”

“Thanks,” Hugh said sombrely and sat for a while in shocked silence. Now he understood why Orlando had taken this trip to Australia, he didn't have much time left... Then Hugh shot into action. At least he knew what he had to deal with now. 

He called the teams, including the miners who would be searching underground, together to inform them what to expect. 

“Listen people. At the moment I’m more concerned with dehydration, hypothermia and his injuries due to his fall, but should it be obvious to you that his eyesight is compromised, reassure him. I want to be the first to hear it when you’ve found him, understood? This is going to be a race against time.”

Nobody doubted the truth of Hugh’s words. 

Hugh walked away, his long strides covering the ground quickly, trusting everyone to know what to do. He looked up in surprise when his path was blocked by an Aboriginal Elder. Hugh recognized him immediately as the one who had mentioned the dark cloud above Orlando and that the light would leave him.

The man’s words seemed to have come true in more ways than one.

The man was flanked by two younger men and before Hugh could ask, the Elder nodded at him. “My grandsons can help you find your _guragalung_ *.” The man pointed towards the mining field and the two young men disappeared into the bushes. 

“He has fallen in _gumirri_ *. _Garadyigan_ … Doctor. Your _mugung_ *, he needs doctor. You must care for him.” The man nodded at Hugh and then he left in the same direction as his grandsons had gone. 

Hugh stared after him. Orlando had fallen down a hole, or shaft, the man had said as much and that Orlando needed a doctor. His knowledge of the Aboriginal language was very basic, but had the man just called Orlando his… lover?

He was about to head out to the mining field again when Josh approached him. “Is it true, about Orlando’s eyes? That this eye condition makes him blind at night?”

Hugh nodded. “That’s the information we were given, why?”

Josh’s shoulders sagged. “It’s my fault. He always put the flashlight and his glasses beside his pillow. Last night I put his glasses in his bag and didn’t take out his flashlight. It was darker inside the tent than it was outside, I bet he searched for his things, couldn’t find them went out… as good as blind, all because of my stupidity!” 

Sighing, Hugh looked at Josh. “It’s no one’s fault, Josh. There was no way you could have known. Orlando didn’t let on he had problems with his vision, nor did he ask for any help at any time.”

“So it’s his own fault then?” Josh asked belligerently.

“No, that’s not what I’m saying.” Hugh felt he was losing precious time. “Listen Josh, Orlando needed to leave the tent, when he couldn’t find his torch, he probably expected he could manage. Unfortunately it was a moonless night last night and maybe he heard Wenham and walked further away than he otherwise would have because he didn’t want to be disturbed. I’m saying it’s just a twist of fate.”

“A damned unlucky one,” Josh muttered.

Hugh squeezed the American’s shoulder. “Yeah, that’s a given. I’ve got to go now, mate.”

* 

Orlando shivered. He was cold and in the past few hours his pain had increased. He had once again tried to pull his arm from under his body, but without any success. It had hurt so much that he had passed out again. Rolling over hadn’t even been an option, one of his legs was broken and it felt as though the other one had been sliced in two. 

He still hadn’t opened his eyes; he wasn’t ready for the undeniable truth yet.

He was also very thirsty. 

The only thing he could do was listen in the hope that someone had missed him by now and was looking for him. Maybe Hugh had noticed his absence.

Hugh.

If only he had met the handsome Australian before he’d learned about his eye condition.

Orlando shifted minutely and immediately gasped; the pain was so overwhelming that he nearly passed out again. 

“Shouldn’t move… should keep very still…” 

Orlando knew his situation was deteriorating, but there was nothing he could do to help himself. 

 

*

Hugh had tried to keep up with the Aboriginal trackers, but it was impossible. He knew he was good, but they were so much better. This was their land and they knew it better than he could ever hope to.

When they suddenly reappeared, Hugh wasn’t at all surprised. The taller of the two pointed in a southerly direction. 

“He is there.” 

“Which one?” Hugh asked, wanting to dash to Orlando’s rescue, even if it was a foolish impulse that could result with him in just as much trouble as Orlando currently was.

The man cocked his head as if he thought Hugh was crazy, but then he smiled. “One of the closed shafts.”

“Thank you,” Hugh said with heartfelt gratitude. The two men just grinned and then faded into the bush, seeming to vanish in an eye blink. 

As soon as he was back at the camp-site, Hugh informed all search parties of the information he had. He asked the miners who were searching underground, if they had a map with the closed shafts marked; it would make their search a lot easier. 

The foreman helped out, he had arrived at the camp-site with a map and several copies. There were forty-six closed mine shafts. Thirty-nine were accessible through other shafts underground, seven had either collapsed or were closed down and if Orlando had fallen into one of those he could only be rescued by being lifted out through the shaft. 

“I’ll check these seven,” Hugh tapped his copy of the map. “I need a couple of volunteers.”

Josh immediately stepped forward as did a couple of miners and David Wenham. Hugh shook his head at his fellow guide. “I need you here to coordinate everything, Dave. If he’s too severely injured he’ll need to be flown to Adelaide. You have to contact the Flying Doctors and have them on stand-by.”

David nodded. “Yeah, okay. Are you sure you can trust those Aboriginals? I mean they could have been a little more accurate and told us exactly which shaft it is.”

Hugh rolled his eyes, Dave hadn’t changed. “Yes, I _do_ trust them, they know what they’re doing even if I don’t know how.” He then turned to the others. “Let’s go.”

 

Checking each of the seven shafts was still an arduous job. Someone had to be lowered down into the shaft because the light didn’t reach the bottom and they _had_ to make sure Orlando wasn’t down there. 

Dave drove around in the station wagon to keep everyone informed about the status of their search and Luisa was there with him to hand out food and water. 

Hugh gratefully accepted a cold bottle of water and poured half of it over his head. He had been down two out of five shafts and they hadn’t found Orlando yet. He was very worried, every added hour was one too many.

Luisa noticed his state of mind and smiled at him. “I know you will find him,” she said confidently. 

“Yeah, I won’t stop before I do. I’m worried sick about the state he’s in though. What if…” Hugh didn’t want to finish that sentence. 

Luisa took his hand. “You cannot let that distract you now, Hugh, worry about that later, concentrate on finding him first.”

Hugh nodded, unable to even call up a ghost of a smile. “I didn’t think I would admit this to anyone, but I care about him.”

Luisa nodded, as she offered him a sandwich which he waved away. “I know you do. He cares a lot about you too.” Then she walked back to the car and told Dave they could return to the camp-site. 

Incredulously Hugh looked after her. Orlando had called him perceptive, well that was apparently incorrect, because he’d had no idea… Luisa was probably mistaken, if anything, Orlando seemed to care a great deal about Josh.

“She’s right you know,” a voice behind him said and when Hugh whirled round, Josh stood there. 

“About what?” Hugh asked, wondering what Josh had heard.

Josh shook his head. “Man, where have you been these past couple of days. Orlando? He definitely has a thing for you, even though he did his best to hide it.”

Hugh blinked and wiped the sweat from his forehead again. Why was it that everyone seemed to know what was going on except for him? “How can you be sure of that? Did you try it on with him?” he asked, a little irritated.

“Down boy,” Josh chuckled. “Seriously man, I’m straight, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have eyes in my head. And he more or less admitted it…” 

“He… What?” Hugh’s mouth dropped open.

Before Josh could reply, they were called. “Mr Jackman! He’s here! Your fella is down this shaft!”

 

Translation Aboriginal words:

gili – light  
guragalung – young man  
garadyigan - doctor  
mugung - lover  
gumirri - hole

tbc


	9. Chapter Nine

**Chapter Nine**

_“Mr Jackman! He’s here! Your fella is down this shaft!”_

Forgetting everything else, Hugh and Josh hurried over. “How is he?” Hugh asked shortly.

The man shook his head and for a few seconds Hugh thought the man meant that Orlando hadn’t survived the fall, until he spoke up. “It doesn’t look good. The doctor is down there with him now.”

Coober Pedy’s own doctor had been on standby and he had been immediately lowered into the shaft, when it was confirmed Orlando was down there. 

Hugh crouched beside the edge of the shaft and called out. “Doc, what do you need?”

The doctor replied immediately. “A neck brace, a spinal board and a survival blanket and have them call the RFDS, he needs to be flown to Adelaide as soon as he’s stabilized!”

“You got it, doc!” Hugh yelled back and gave orders to get the things the doctor needed and he sent someone to inform Dave to call the Flying Doctors. The miners, having experience with lifting an injured person from a mine shaft and having the right equipment, immediately set out to get what the doctor wanted. 

“I want to get down there. Now!” Hugh couldn’t care less if anyone thought it strange. He needed to see for himself that Orlando was still alive. 

No one tried to stop Hugh or convince him otherwise, but they were miners, at the few incidents some of them had experienced, they knew how loved ones felt.

Hugh was lowered into the shaft and as he unfastened the harness, he looked at Orlando’s crumpled form on the ground and his heart sank. The doctor sat beside Orlando and one of the miners was holding the lantern up, providing him with light to care for Orlando. 

“Doctor?” Hugh’s voice was tight with worry.

“As you already suspected he’s dehydrated, but since it’s quite cool down here, it’s not too bad. However, because of being out in the cold first and then on the cold ground down here, his temperature is too low.”

“What else? Is he conscious? What about his eyes? Any serious injuries?” Hugh fired off his questions rapidly, needing to hear some good news. 

The doctor looked up at Hugh with a sigh. “Lots of scrapes and bruises. Broken left leg, his right leg appears to have been sliced open from knee to ankle against the rocks – fortunately not that deep, otherwise he would have bled to death, but he’ll still need stitches. Don’t know about internal bleeding yet, but it can’t be ruled out. We have to turn him over, but we need to take care of his neck and back first, then I can take a look at his left arm which is trapped under his body now and tend to both his legs. He was briefly conscious, but the situation is taking its toll on his body.”

“And his eyes?” Hugh pressed, anxious to know about the one thing the doctor hadn’t addressed. 

The doctor shrugged. “I didn’t have time to ask, he mumbled something that sounded like ‘help me’ and then passed out. I’m sorry, we’ll have to wait until he wakes up again.” 

Hugh walked around Orlando to be able to see his face. He ached to touch him, to let him know he was there for him. 

The doctor nodded at him. “Talk to him, let him know you’re here.”

Hugh dropped to his knees, he reached out and lightly touched the dust-coated dark curls. “Orlando,” he murmured. “Open your eyes, Orlando, let me know you can hear me.”

There was no reaction. Hugh tried again. “Orlando, please open your eyes, for me. Look at me… Talk to me…” Carefully, with one finger he stroked Orlando’s right hand, which was beside his face.

“Can’t.” It was barely audible. “Water…”

Hugh looked at the doctor. “Can he have some water?”

The doctor nodded. “Yes, dehydration is my main concern right now, together with the hypothermia. Give him just a little to wet his mouth and throat and a bit more later. He will get an IV with fluids as soon as we’ve lifted him out of here.” 

It was difficult to get the water to flow into Orlando’s mouth without moving his head, but Hugh managed and Orlando swallowed gratefully. 

Hugh stroked Orlando’s hand again. “Tell me why you can’t open your eyes,” he asked quietly.

Orlando’s fingers moved and Hugh slid his hand below Orlando’s so the prone man could grab hold.

Orlando coughed and Hugh gave him another small sip before he spoke. “My eyes, I can’t… What if… I’m blind?”

Hugh swallowed and squeezed Orlando’s hand gently. “We know about your condition, Orlando, I needed to know what we could expect. No one else can answer that, you can only reassure yourself… and me, by opening your eyes.”

“You?” Orlando asked huskily.

Hugh once again squeezed Orlando’s hand. “Yes, I want to know too.”

“Why?” Orlando mumbled tiredly. “Cause you get paid?”

Hugh knew that he should have expected something like this, he was well aware of his previous answers. “No, because… well…” Just say it you idiot, he admonished himself. “I need to know, Orlando, because I care.” 

He looked at the doctor who nodded at him encouragingly and Hugh lay down beside Orlando and touched his cheek with the back of his finger very gently. “I’m here with you and if you want… not just here… Please, open your eyes.” 

Orlando’s eyes flew open and Hugh didn’t know if it was because he had asked again, or because of his words, which seemed to have shocked Orlando. 

Orlando blinked a couple of times and then some more. “You’re blurry… again,” he complained, but with a tiny smile. 

Now Hugh closed his own eyes in relief. “Thank God for that.”

Someone was lowered down the shaft and within moments Josh appeared, carrying his sleeping bag. He was panting as he handed the sleeping bag to the doctor motioning to Orlando. 

The doctor quickly covered Orlando as Josh sank down on Orlando’s other side still trying to catch his breath.

“Did you run to and from the camp?” Hugh asked him as he sat up again but kept holding on to Orlando’s hand. 

Josh nodded and finally was able to speak. “They’re gathering the equipment to get Orlando out, but I thought he couldn’t wait that long to get warm again.”

“Thanks Josh,” Orlando murmured. He couldn’t see Josh because he was facing away from him and he didn’t dare turn his head. 

The doctor was getting worried, Orlando’s condition wasn’t improving and he needed to get out of the shaft as soon as possible. 

“How will they get him out?” Josh asked and for the first time the miner holding the light, spoke up. “We’ve done this before and have a car that can hold the back board which is in a harness and attached to a specially enforced winch and a rope to keep it still.” 

A while later commotion outside indicated that the equipment had arrived. The neck brace was lowered as well as the spinal board, accompanied by another miner.

The doctor glanced at the two miners. “You know how to roll someone with a possible spinal injury?” The two men nodded and the doctor glanced at Hugh who also nodded. Josh shook his head negatively. “Then you get to hold the light,” the doctor said to Josh.

He positioned the other men where he wanted them, having Hugh hold Orlando’s head still while he put the neck brace on him. “All right, fellas, on three.” 

“What are you going to do?” Josh asked anxiously.

“Your guide is going to hold the patient’s head still so his neck doesn’t twist as we’re moving him,” the doctor explained. “The miners will be moving in tandem to lift and roll the patient’s body from a prone position to supine on the backboard. I will oversee and make sure there is no chance for further injury.”

Orlando’s choked off scream of agony as he was carefully lifted onto his side told Hugh and the others he was in a lot of pain. When he was finally turned over they could see why. The damage the fall had caused to Orlando’s body was quite extensive. 

His left arm, which had been trapped beneath his body, was swollen and blue, he had a gash on his left temple, where he had smacked against the side of the shaft during his fall. His torn t-shirt had ridden up, revealing the bruises that covered his ribs and stomach. 

The doctor applied a dressing to the wound on Orlando’s head and then he cut Orlando’s trouser leg open so he could tend to the large wound in his right leg, he also made sure Orlando’s left arm and leg were immobilized and protected when he would be lifted out of the shaft. Finally the doctor covered Orlando with the survival blanket and strapped him to the board. With the special harness attached to the spinal board he was ready for lifting. 

At the doctor’s mark, they started to lift Orlando, the board being helped into position by the miners below. It was of vital importance that the board was pulled up slowly to prevent it from starting to swing and to achieve that, the two men took hold of the ropes attached to the bottom of the board, this way the board with Orlando on it was held straight both below and up top. Hugh watched tensely, his hands clenched into fists. 

Everything went smoothly though, and as soon as Orlando was safely out of the shaft, the doctor, Hugh, and Josh, holding on to his sleeping bag, were picked up one by one, followed by the miners.

Orlando was put in the back of the truck and Hugh and the doctor joined him there, while they took him to the airstrip, where the Flying Doctors Service was waiting to fly him to Adelaide. 

On the short trip to the airstrip the doctor set up an IV with fluids for Orlando, while Hugh just held Orlando’s hand and talked to him.

“I’ll come to Adelaide as soon as I’ve made sure the rest of the gang are set to continue their holiday. Josh has already said he wants to come to Adelaide too…”

Orlando managed a smile that was more of a grimace. The pain, especially of his arm, was overwhelming and his eyes closed as the doctor administered something against the pain. It was a relief when he started to drift off. 

Met by the doctors waiting for them, Orlando was brought on board and Hugh kissed his forehead and murmured. “I’ll see you soon.”

Together with the doctor he moved away so the plane could take off, but before he could go anywhere the doctor grabbed his arm. “If you care for that young man, in any way other than as a friend, you need to tell him. He will need to _hear_ you say it.”

Hugh pulled away from the doctor. “What are you saying?” he asked a little aggressively. He wasn’t sure how he felt about _everyone else_ knowing of his feelings for Orlando before he did.

The doctor shrugged. “Soon he won’t be able to see you – or the expression on your face. He will have to judge your feelings by what he hears and that is not going to be easy. Use the little time he will have wisely, don’t hold back.”

The plane was at the end of the airstrip and took off as Hugh watched until he couldn’t see it anymore. 

Deep in thought he was dropped off at the camp, the words of the doctor a constant echo in his mind. How could the doctor know whether Orlando’s eye sight would disappear soon?

On the other hand, no one knew and that was probably what the doctor meant. How the hell could Orlando live with this insecurity? 

Admiration for Orlando was what Hugh felt. Having to live in a situation where every day that he could see, could be his last…

 

As soon as Hugh appeared at the camp-site he was swamped by the other members of their group. As quickly as possible Hugh explained what had happened to Orlando and that he was on his way to Adelaide now.

“We need to decide, how we’re going to continue the tour,” Hugh said seriously. He looked at Luisa Sanchez. “I want to be with Orlando in Adelaide, but I can have someone fly in to take over my duties. Josh has indicated he wants to return to Adelaide as well, but I urge all of you to consider finishing the tour, there’s nothing you can do for Orlando and I’m sure you will be able to visit him when you return to Adelaide.”

Luisa smiled at him. “I am pleased you will be with Orlando, he needs someone to support him and stand by him in these difficult times.” 

It was then quickly decided that the others, with the exception of Josh, were going to finish the tour and Hugh arranged a replacement for himself. He then went to Josh and Orlando’s tent to help Josh pack up all of Orlando’s belongings. 

They would leave for Adelaide in the morning.

tbc


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten**

Orlando slowly woke up and for a brief moment he felt warm and happy. Then he tried to shift his leg and immediately pain and memories washed over him.

He was in hospital, with a broken left leg, a broken left wrist and two broken fingers, and a gash in his temple which was stitched. His right leg had a long cut, which had also needed stitches – twenty-six the doctor had informed him. And his stomach and chest were black and blue with bruises, as was most of his body.

The only good thing Orlando could think of was that he still had his eyesight; although the doctor had pointed out that he was very lucky not to have any internal bleeding after the fall he had survived. 

He heard stumbling by the door and cautiously he opened his eyes, expecting nothing but darkness, but friendly filtered sunlight greeted him. The door opened and Josh walked in, a broad smile lighting his face. 

“Hey man, how’re you doing?” He walked over to Orlando who grinned up at him, and mindful of Orlando’s bruises, hugged him gently. “You had us all worried as hell, you know,” Josh said. 

Orlando’s smile faltered. “I’m sorry, Josh, I never meant to worry anyone, or get into so much trouble.”

Josh patted Orlando’s good hand awkwardly. “Not your fault, I’m sorry… We’ve heard about…” Josh gestured to his eyes. “Your condition. Man, I don’t know how you do it, but I for one think you’re a hell of a gutsy guy to take a trip like this in your circumstances…”

“And stupid.” A new voice sounded at the door and when Orlando looked up his heart skipped a beat when he saw Hugh standing there. 

Josh rolled his eyes. “Yeah, right, nice one, Hugh, didn’t we agree to keep that for later?” 

Orlando couldn’t help himself, he started to giggle quietly at first and then louder, holding his good arm against his aching stomach, gasping and giggling, until the gasps of pain overtook the giggles and Orlando curled in on himself as much as his body would let him, but he couldn’t seem to stop laughing now that he’d started.

Alarmed Josh stood and went to find help. 

Hugh however approached the bed and carefully took hold of Orlando, unfolding him and gently easing him back against the pillows. “Easy, Orlando, try to breathe for me, calm and deeply, now. In. Out… In. Out.”

When a doctor and two nurses entered Orlando’s room, he had calmed down sufficiently, but his face showed his exhaustion. 

The doctor took Orlando’s pulse and frowned. “I think we’ll have to cut this visit short, gentlemen, the patient needs to rest.” He nodded at Hugh and Josh and then left the room with the nurses in tow. 

“I’ll come back tomorrow,” Josh promised and gently ruffled Orlando’s curls. “I’ll wait outside for you,” he said to Hugh.

Hugh nodded, not taking his eyes off Orlando.

“Thanks.” Orlando whispered tiredly. 

“No worries, mate,” Hugh said airily. Expressing his feelings was still difficult for him. 

“Did you mean it?” Orlando asked him, blinking his eyes to focus properly. “Back there, in that shaft?”

_“If you care for that young man, in any way other than as a friend, you need to tell him. He will need to _hear_ you say it._

The doctor’s words sounded in Hugh’s mind again and Orlando’s question just now confirmed those words. Orlando needed him to say it. Taking his hat off, Hugh sat down on the edge of the bed, looking at Orlando and knowing that he had been very lucky to have survived his fall. That _he_ had been very lucky to still be able to tell Orlando how he felt. 

Hugh took Orlando’s good hand in his. “Yes, I did,” he said simply. He could make a huge statement about not being able to express himself very well when it concerned his feelings, but it seemed unnecessary. 

“Why?” Orlando asked. He pulled his good hand from Hugh’s to rub his eyes again.

Hugh frowned both at the gesture and the question. “Why what?” 

Orlando looked away as he spoke. “Why would you want to be with someone who will be blind soon? Someone who will be a burden to you, who is going to need help with the most basic things?”

Understanding, Hugh slowly turned Orlando’s head with his hand and looked down into troubled brown eyes. “When you love someone, it’s not a burden.”

Orlando’s eyes widened. “Love?”

Hugh nodded. “I wasn’t ready to have these feelings for someone, which is why I did my best to ignore them, but then you went missing…”

“You were worried, after all I was your responsibility, that’s not love.” Orlando wasn’t going to let Hugh off the hook that easily. 

“True,” Hugh nodded. “You were my responsibility, that was also a welcome excuse to hide behind. Didn’t change my feelings though. I want to be there for you… with you. You’re facing difficult times, Orlando, I just want you to know that you don’t have to face them alone, I promise to be there for you.”

Orlando leant away from Hugh. “Please don’t say that. What if you get tired of me not being able to see, or of picking me up because I trip over things, of bumping into things? I might not be able to take care of myself for a while, even if I want to… Please don’t make promises you can’t keep.”

Hugh shook his head and his voice was husky when he spoke again. “It must be difficult for you to be able to trust someone else to take care of you for a change. I have a feeling you’ve only ever been able to rely on yourself. It’s time to let go, Orlando and trust me to take care of you whenever you need it.” 

Orlando pressed trembling lips together, afraid he was going to bawl if he opened his mouth. 

Hugh reached out and wiped away a single tear. “I love you, took me a bit long to realize it, but it’s the truth.”

Then Hugh kissed him and the warmth that spread through Orlando’s body told him all he needed to know. He had never felt like this with Simon, this was right, Hugh’s arms and Hugh’s kisses made him happy. 

Someone pounded on the door. “I’m growing roots here!” Josh called out.

With a grin the two men separated. 

“See you in the morning,” Hugh promised. 

Emotionally and physically exhausted, Orlando closed his eyes, but there was a smile on his face as he fell asleep. 

 

* 

Ten days later Orlando was released from hospital and taken to Hugh’s house in the Adelaide Hills, a good hour’s drive from the city. With his current injuries Orlando was unable to travel home and as Hugh suggested, it would give them time to sort out what they wanted. 

Both agreed on the fact that Orlando needed to go back home and settle his affairs, but first he needed to recover from his ordeal and he could do this in the peaceful surroundings of Hugh’s home.

Both Emilio and Luisa Sanchez as well as Yuan and Mei Chang had visited him in hospital and they had promised to keep in touch. 

Josh had also visited several times until it was time for him to go back home again and Orlando had felt really lucky to have found such a great friend. They had promised each other they would visit each other again, one way or another. 

 

* 

 

_six weeks later_

Orlando drowsily tried to turn over, but his newly healed leg, just released from its cast, wasn’t cooperating. He hissed as pain shot through his leg.

“Need a hand?” A voice murmured in his ear and a hand settled on his naked hip. 

“Hmm,” Orlando hummed with pleasure, his own hand closing over Hugh’s. “Unless you have a better idea…”

“Tempting,” Hugh chuckled and gently eased Orlando’s leg forward. “Can you stay like this for a bit?” 

“Can you make it worth my while?” Orlando gasped as a finger stroked his cleft.

Hugh kissed his neck. “Most definitely,” he promised and he pushed the sheets away, making Orlando shiver just a little at the sudden cool air touching his body. 

It was soon forgotten when Hugh’s breath skittered across his skin as he placed sensual kisses on Orlando’s back, his hands caressing Orlando’s side and buttocks, making him squirm in need. Orlando’s breathing increased when Hugh parted his arse cheeks and licked the cleft from top to bottom. The shudder that went through Orlando now had nothing to do with cool air.

He moaned as Hugh’s tongue lapped over his hole and then slowly pushed inside. The sound that escaped Orlando’s lips made Hugh smile and delve deeper. When he pulled back Orlando protested, but soon a lubed finger returned and stretched his opening further. 

Careful not to put any pressure on Orlando’s leg, Hugh spooned up behind his lover and slowly inched his cock into his lover’s body, giving Orlando time to adjust. Then he started to move, trying to be as gentle as possible, but soon the need and passion made him speed up. 

Orlando was by no means a passive participant, he pushed back to feel Hugh as deeply as possible and when Hugh’s hand closed around his shaft, he felt his release approach, yelling his lover’s name as he came.

With a long, low grunt of pleasure, Hugh climaxed too and then carefully rolled Orlando on his back before kissing him thoroughly. Orlando could see the loving look in Hugh’s eyes.

“Want to take a bit of nap?” Hugh asked him and at Orlando’s nod, he lay down beside him and they both drifted off to sleep. 

 

Some time later Orlando woke up again, feeling a little stiff and he smiled as this reminded him of their earlier bedroom activities. He needed the bathroom and opened his eyes to get up. It was dark and he wondered whether there was a storm, it hadn’t looked like one earlier, but Hugh had explained he always closed the blinds when it stormed.

“Hugh?” he called out. “Did you close the blinds? Is there a storm coming?”

Hugh, who was stepping out of the adjacent bathroom holding a cloth to clean Orlando up, watched Orlando’s eyes look around in the bright sunlit room and the cloth dropped to the floor from his suddenly powerless hands. 

“Hugh?” Orlando repeated, having heard something, but still seeing only darkness. 

“No,” Hugh’s voice was unusually hoarse and Orlando lifted his head, trying to penetrate the darkness. 

“Hugh? What’s wrong?” Orlando asked the question but was certain he already knew the answer. The bed dipped as Hugh moved to settle beside him, his arms went around Orlando, holding him tight.

“Tell me.” Orlando whispered, his hands finding Hugh’s and gripping them tight.

“The blinds…” Hugh swallowed and took a deep breath. “Love, they’re wide open and the sun is shining and… God, Orlando!” His voice broke and Orlando was shocked to feel Hugh’s body shaking.

It had happened… He pulled his hands out of Hugh’s and reached for his own face, wiping his eyes, rubbing them hard, but beside the flashes of light due to the pressure, there was nothing else. 

No shadows.

No dark shapes.

Nothing but darkness. 

Orlando gasped for breath as realization sank in. “I’m blind…”

“I know,” Hugh’s words came out choked. “I’m so sorry. I had hoped…” He hugged Orlando tightly. “I’d hoped you would have more time.”

Orlando wiggled around until he was facing Hugh, his hands came up searching until he felt Hugh's face. He held Hugh’s face between his hands, staring intently into the darkness where Hugh’s face would be. “Thank you, but in a way, I am glad it happened... finally.”

Hugh's hands pulled Orlando's away from his face. “What do you mean? How can you say that?” He was completely bewildered by Orlando's words.

“Hugh?” Orlando tried to calm his lover down. “Please listen. Ever since I heard the diagnosis and what this eye condition means; I've been living in a constant state of stress, I can admit that now.” 

Orlando pushed his curls away from his forehead with sure movements. “Every night when I went to bed, all I could think of was: Would I wake up in total darkness or would I still have time? This constant race against time was wearing me out and now... Now I don't have to worry about that anymore. It's happened, I can move on with my life now... My life with you.”

  


 

The End


End file.
